COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Islamist Extremism

David Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make a statement on the Government's progress in combating Islamist extremism.

Ruth Kelly: The police and security services continue their good work to disrupt and prevent Islamist extremists.
	My Department is leading the Government's work engaging with Muslim communities to acknowledge and tackle Islamist extremism at the grassroots. With an expanding network of Muslim partners, we are developing communities that condemn and isolate extremist activity.

London Mayor (Planning Powers)

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make a statement on the Government's plans to amend the planning powers of the Mayor of London.

Yvette Cooper: Reviewing the powers of the Mayor of London was a Government Manifesto commitment. Following the review, we set out our proposals for enhanced powers for the Mayor in a policy statement in July. We are now consulting on detailed powers over planning applications ending on 2 November.

Low-cost Housing

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects £60,000 homes to be available to people in West Ham constituency.

Ruth Kelly: None of the 10 sites being developed as part of the Design for Manufacture competition is in my hon. Friend's West Ham constituency. However, we have asked English Partnership to develop a toolkit for local authorities. This will mean that a local authority could run a similar competition to develop £60,000 homes on land in their ownership in their areas should they wish to do so. This toolkit should be available later this year.

Local Services

Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps she plans to take to enable communities to exert greater control over the manner of delivery of local services.

Angela Smith: The local government White Paper will place local people at the heart of local decision-making. There is a clear link between people's satisfaction with public services and their ability to influence them. Our reforms will give local people new powers so they can have more say in service delivery.

Local Government

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions the Government has had with Sir Michael Lyons on reform of local government finance and structures in the last 12 months.

Phil Woolas: My Government colleagues and I have had a number of discussions with Sir Michael as he takes forward his independent inquiry into the funding, form and function of local government.

Unitary Authorities

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will set a minimum population size for the formation of unitary authorities.

Phil Woolas: As made clear to the House in June this year, we will set out the approach to restructuring in the forthcoming local government White Paper which will be published shortly.

Affordable Housing

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the supply of affordable housing in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

Yvette Cooper: Recognising the need for more affordable housing in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, the Housing Corporation has allocated £34.1 million from its National Affordable Housing Programme 2006-08, a 66 per cent. increase on investment in 2004-06. This is expected to provide around 795 additional affordable homes to rent or buy.
	Local authority partners and other stakeholders in Cornwall are undertaking sub-regional Housing Market Assessments of the future housing needs and demand in their market areas. The results of theses studies will help inform future decisions on local housing and planning policies, including affordable housing policies, to apply in Cornwall.

Building Regulations

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government why houses of multiple occupation are not classified as a specific category of residential property; and if she will take steps to ensure that Building Regulations Part E, on resistance to the passage of sound, be applied in cases where landlords seek to rent a property to students, particularly in areas with large student populations.

Angela Smith: holding answer 13 September 2006
	Under the Building Regulations each individually occupied room in a house of multiple occupation would be a "room for residential purposes". Part E—resistance to the passage of sound—will apply where there is a change of use of the building so that it contains a greater or lesser number of rooms for residential purposes than it previously did. This will include situations where the use of a house changes from ordinary housing into accommodation by students (or other type of HMO), or where the number of rooms in the house being used by students to live in changes.

Community Cohesion

Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent meetings she has had with faith group leaders to discuss community cohesion.

Meg Munn: The Department for Communities and Local Government's vision is of prosperous and cohesive communities, offering a safe, healthy and sustainable environment for all. Hence the discussion of community cohesion is an intrinsic part of meetings held by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with faith group leaders of which there have been a number recently. For example, the Secretary of State launched the Commission on Integration and Cohesion on 24 August with faith group leaders of various faiths in attendance. Discussion at the launch focused on the Commission's theme of forging cohesive and resilient communities.

Departmental Websites

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the Answer of 18 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 304-5W, on departmental websites, what plans her Department has for the odpm.gov.uk domain name following the machinery of government changes.

Angela Smith: Owing to the high volume of traffic to odpm.gov.uk, the domain name will be retained for the foreseeable future and will continue to redirect to communities.gov.uk. This is in line with Cabinet Office guidance for legacy web addresses.

Deputy Prime Minister

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many full-time equivalent press officers in her Department are providing press support to the Deputy Prime Minister.

Angela Smith: The Deputy Prime Minister's Office is responsible for its own press arrangements.

Discretionary Housing Payments

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what efforts have been made to advertise the money offered to local authorities by her Department for discretionary housing payments.

James Plaskitt: I have been asked to reply.
	Local authorities are notified annually by circular of the amount of funding available for discretionary housing payments. Circulars are widely available for viewing on the Department's housing benefit website.

Electromagnetic Fields

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the ICNIRP guidelines are in relation to the limitation of exposure of the general public to electromagnetic fields; and if she will make a statement.

Meg Munn: In April 1998, the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) published guidelines for limiting exposure to time-varying electric, magnetic and electromagnetic fields in the frequency range up to 300 GHz. This report is available at www.icnirp.de.
	Restrictions on the effects of exposure to time-varying EMFs are based on biological considerations of their interactions with the body and are termed basic restrictions.
	Depending on frequency, the physical quantities used to specify the basic restrictions include: induced current density, measured in Amps per square metre (A m(2)); specific energy absorption rate (SAR), measured in watts per kilogram (W / kg); or, for higher frequencies, power density, measured in watts per square metre (W / m(2)).
	For example, the basic restriction on exposure to EMFs in the frequency range between 10 Hz and 1 kHz, which includes the frequency of UK mains electricity, for occupational exposure, ICNIRP recommends 10 mA m(-2) (10 milliAmps per square cm). For public exposure, ICNIRP recommends a reduction in the limit to 2 milliamps per cm (2 mA m(-2))—five times less.
	For the frequencies used by mobile phone companies, the ICNIRP guidelines for occupational exposure specify 22.5 watts per square metre (for 900 MHz) and 45 watts per square metre (for 1.8 GHz frequency). For public exposure, these guidelines are 4.5 watts per square metre and 9 watts per square metre respectively—five times less.

Electromagnetic Fields

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether in accordance with the Government's policy and planning guidelines failure of a planning application to comply with the limitation of exposure of the general public to electro magnetic fields shall automatically result in a refusal; and if she will make a statement.

Meg Munn: Planning Policy Guidance Note 8: Telecommunications states:
	"All new mobile phone base stations are expected to meet the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) guidelines.
	With every application, the operators now have to include a statement that self-certifies to the effect that the mobile phone base stations, when operational, will meet the guidelines.
	In line with the Group's recommendations the mobile network operator should also provide to the local authority a statement for each site indicating its location, the height of the antenna, the frequency and modulation characteristics and details of power output. Where a mobile phone base station is added to an existing mast or site, the operator should confirm that the cumulative exposure will not exceed the ICNIRP guidelines.
	In most cases, the emissions from base station are many hundreds, or thousands, of times lower than the ICNIRP guidelines. However, should operators not submit a certificate of compliance with ICNIRP, the local authority would be able to refuse planning permission".

Empty Dwellings

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many full-time equivalent staff in the Residential Property Tribunals are employed to work on Empty Dwelling Management Order hearings.

Yvette Cooper: The Residential Property Tribunal Service covers Rent Assessment Committees, Leasehold Valuation Tribunals and Residential Property Tribunals. It employs 92 full-time equivalent civil service staff on case work, each of whom are expected to assist with the full range of cases brought before the Committees and/or Tribunals. In 2005, the number of cases brought before the different Committees and/or Tribunals was 7,735 of which the majority, 4,395, were heard by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. No staff are employed specifically to deal with Empty Dwelling Management Orders (EDMOs). Residential Property Tribunals were given the jurisdiction to decide on applications in respect of EDMOs from 6 July 2006. At present there have been no EDMO cases submitted for consideration.

Home Energy Efficiency

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has for encouraging the insulation of walls in domestic properties.

Angela Smith: Ensuring that homes have both efficient heating and effective insulation is an integral part of the Decent Homes standard. Our guidance sets out the means by which landlords can meet this thermal comfort criterion, and also recommends that they seek to go further to improve energy efficiency, for example by replacing inefficient boilers, or installing extra insulation or double glazing. Within the private sector the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Warm Front Programme, designed to challenge fuel poverty, provides grants that can be used for insulation.

Home Information Packs

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the average time that a property to which a home information pack applies will stay on the market; and whether this period varies according to house value.

Yvette Cooper: The 1998 survey estimated that the then current average (median) time for a property to remain on the market was 54 days. Research is currently in progress to update this estimate.

Home Information Packs

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what meetings  (a) officials and  (b) Ministers have had with the Association of Home Information Pack Providers in the last six months.

Yvette Cooper: Regular meetings have been held by officials with the Association of Home Information Pack Providers (AHIPP) over the last six months as with all major stakeholders. Since 9 May 2005, I have met twice with AHIPP and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has met with AHIPP once.

Home Information Packs

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the written statement of 18 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 11-13WS, on home information packs, what estimate she has made of the number of home inspectors needed to implement the revised home information pack proposals.

Yvette Cooper: We estimate that from 1 June next year between 2,500 and 4,500 properly trained inspectors will be needed to produce Energy Performance Certificates required for packs and voluntary Home Condition Reports.

Home Inspectors

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether  (a) convicted criminals who have served and completed a prison sentence more than five years ago,  (b) persons on the Sex Offenders Register and  (c) persons on List 99 are eligible to become home inspectors.

Yvette Cooper: There are currently no criminal record checks on estate agents or surveyors who conduct surveys for home buyers. The business standards for Certification Schemes, published on 14 June 2006, set out the requirements for all home inspectors to undergo a full background check, including a Criminal Records Bureau check. These standards are similar to those applying to join the police force and require applications to be rejected from those convicted or cautioned for selected serious arrestable offences. The Certification Scheme will use this information to make a judgment as to whether an individual is a "fit and proper person" to become a home inspector.
	Certification schemes will not have access to the Sex Offenders Register or List 99 which are restricted to employers recruiting staff who will work directly with children or vulnerable adults. However the Criminal Records check will include all past convictions including sex offences.

Housing

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 3 July 2006,  Official Report, column 764W, on housing, what account she took of the potential for conflicts of interest in commissioning Roger Tym and Partners to look at housing targets in the South East; and what arrangements were put in place to take account of that company's role in advising companies seeking approval for large scale housing developments in the South East.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 11 July 2006
	The Government commissioned this research to augment the evidence base for the forthcoming Examination in Public (EiP) into the draft Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) for the South East. It is an independent technical exercise to consider the impacts and implications of accommodating levels of growth above that proposed by the South East of England Regional Assembly (SEERA).The intention in commissioning the work was make sure that the evidence is available to inform an open and wide ranging debate about all these issues at the EiP.
	This report is not intended to pre-empt the RSS process. It is not a statement of Government policy and does not signal any preference for particular housing numbers on the part of Government.
	The responsibility for testing the draft RSS in the light of all relevant evidence submitted and making recommendations to the Government is with the independent Panel who will conduct the forthcoming Examination in Public. The contractual approval to award this contract was given in full accordance with public sector contract procedures.
	As the hon. Member for South-West Surrey is aware, it is the Contractor's responsibility to ensure that no conflict of interest arises in connection with the services to be carried out under these contractual procedures. My Department was not consulted by the Contractor on any uncertainty about whether any such conflict of interest may exist or arise with regard to this specific research contract.
	The consultants who carried out this research have also carried out technical work for the South East England Regional Assembly.

Listed Buildings

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many applications to fit  (a) secondary glazing and  (b) double glazing to listed buildings were (i) accepted and (ii) declined in the last 12 months, broken down by class of listed building.

Angela Smith: This information is not held centrally.

Listed Buildings

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance she has given to English Heritage on the acceptability of  (a) secondary glazing and  (b) double glazing to upgrade listed buildings; and if she will make a statement.

Angela Smith: Annex C of Planning Policy Guidance Note 15: Planning and the Historic Environment sets out the Government's policy on alterations to listed buildings. Paragraphs C.40—C.51 set out guidance on windows. Paragraph C.50 states that:
	"It is usually impossible to install double-glazed units in existing frames or to replicate existing frames with new sealed units without making noticeable changes to the profiles of glazing bars, styles and rails. The new glass in such units may also significantly alter the appearance of the window. Such changes are rarely acceptable in listed buildings. Weather stripping and draughtproofing are visually more innocuous changes as well as thermally efficient and cost-effective. Secondary glazing in a removable inner frame is another acceptable option for some windows."

Newcastle Regeneration

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps she has taken to provide new social housing in east Newcastle.

Yvette Cooper: The Housing Corporation made provision in the 2004-06 programme to assist with the affordable housing reprovision in the Walker area of east Newcastle. Progress has been conditional on site availability of which there have been delays due to rehousing and site assembly. The first contract of approximately 30 units is coming to completion and lettings of those properties are ongoing. There is provision in the 2006-08 programme to allow housing associations to provide further homes—both for rent and for shared ownership. The next phase starts on site in November and will complete approximately 12 months later (15 properties for rent and 20 for shared ownership). Finance is available to fund further phases as sites become available. It is anticipated that within the 2006-08 programme work will commence to provide at least 30 more rented properties.

Rented Accommodation

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether energy performance certificates will be required for rented accommodation.

Yvette Cooper: Article 7 of the EU directive on the energy performance of buildings requires an energy performance certificate to be made available to the owner of a building, or by the owner to the prospective buyer or tenant, when the building is constructed, sold or rented out. The deadline for implementation of Articles 7 to 10 of the directive is 4 January 2009. The Government are engaging with stakeholders in the private and social rented housing sectors on the best way to transpose those elements of the directive into domestic law.

Social Housing

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the total amount invested in the construction of new social housing was in each year since 1997, broken down by local authority area.

Yvette Cooper: I have been asked to reply.
	I have placed in the Library of the House a table showing the total expenditure on the provision of social rented housing in each local authority through the Housing Corporation Approved Development Programme, Local Authority Social Housing Grant and from 2003-04 Transitional Local Authority Social Housing Grant for debt free authorities only.

Thames Gateway

John Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much private sector investment has been levered in to assist with the Government Thames Gateway programme since July 2003.

Yvette Cooper: The original estimate for private sector leverage in the longer-term development of the Thames Gateway was £2 billion. We have already seen major private investments begun, including commitments of £2 billion at the Greenwich Peninsula development, works begun at the ProLogis £500 million "Bridge" development in Dartford and the £100 million earthworks by Land Securities at the Ebbsfleet Valley.
	Our Programme funding is creating the conditions for future private sector investment in the Gateway. In terms of future leverage, in south Essex our existing funding of £120 million is estimated to lever in £700 million from the public and private sectors. Other forecast examples include some £7 billion in the London borough of Greenwich and £2 billion for Medway, including £500 million for DCLG's biggest investment at Rochester Riverside.

UNSCR 1325

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what resources have been made available to the Women's National Commission to monitor the implementation of the Government's Action Plan on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325.

Meg Munn: Following the launch of the Government's Action Plan on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is taking the lead in implementing the Plan and works closely with the Gender Action Peace Security (GAPS) and Associate Parliamentary Group (APG) in monitoring progress. In addition to representatives from Government Departments, these groups also comprise representatives from a number of women's NGOs.
	The Department of Communities and Local Government sponsors the Women's National Commission (WNC) through the Women and Equality Unit, and allocation of resources within the WNC is their decision. The WNC contributed to the development of the Action Plan and women's NGOs still play an active part in its implementation.
	The UK was a driving force behind the adoption of SCR 1325, on Women Peace and Security, in October 2000 and we continue to support this key resolution and promote its implementation at the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, United Nations, European Union and in the international community.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Debt Collection

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if the Government will include provisions in the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Bill 2006 to make it a criminal offence for bailiffs and other debt collectors to fulfil their clients' instructions using  (a) menaces,  (b) illegal or enforced entry without proper warrant or legal authority and  (c) clamping or seizing vehicles without proper warrant or legal authority; and if he will provide for a Regulatory and Ombudsman regime to have oversight of the industry and adjudicate in any complaints made against (i) any individual bailiff or debt collector and (ii) the firms they represent.

Harriet Harman: My Department published the draft Tribunals Courts and Enforcement Bill on 25 July 2006 and the proposals contained within the draft Bill are now being considered by my officials in the light of comments received. These cover the use of reasonable force to enter a debtor's premises, regulations outlining the circumstances in which a bailiff may take control of goods or vehicles, the remedies that are available to the debtor should a bailiff breach any of the provisions in the Bill and an improved regulatory regime for all private sector bailiffs. A Bill will be published and introduced when parliamentary time allows.
	Currently, there are no plans to create new criminal offences for illegal actions committed by bailiffs and other debt collectors, as these are already covered by existing legislation. The Government's long-term intention is to introduce full-scale regulation of the entire bailiff industry by way of an independent statutory regulatory body.
	Regulation of debt collectors is a function of the Office of Fair Trading, as debt collection is a regulated activity under the Consumer Credit Act 1974. Legislation already exists to prevent debt collectors harassing debtors; as do processes to deal with complaints against debt collectors and the firms that they represent.

Departmental Expenditure

Grant Shapps: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much was spent by  (a) her Department,  (b) its agencies and  (c) its non-departmental public bodies in respect of hotel and other similar privately-provided accommodation (i) in the UK and (ii) abroad for (A) Ministers, (B) staff and (C) other persons in each year since 2001-02.

Vera Baird: It is not possible to list the hotel and other similarly privately-provided accommodation costs spent by the Department its agencies and its non-departmental public bodies since 2001-02 without incurring disproportionate costs as they are not separately identifiable within the Department's accounts.
	All civil service travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the "ministerial code", "travel by Ministers" and the "civil service management code", copies of which are available in the Library of the House. Information relating to overseas travel by Ministers, which includes accommodation costs, is published on an annual basis. Information for the period 2 May 1997 to 31 March 2006 is available in the Library of the House. Information for the financial year 2006-07 is in the process of being collated and will be published shortly.

Departmental Expenditure

Grant Shapps: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much was spent by her Department on food and alcohol for its staff working out of office in each year since 2001-02.

Vera Baird: It is not possible to list the amounts spent on food and alcohol for staff working out of office by the Department since 2001-02 without incurring disproportionate costs as they are not separately identifiable within the Department's accounts.
	All expenditure on food and alcohol is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety that are based on the principles set out in "Government Accounting".

Drakes Group of Companies

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what oversight her Department undertakes of the work of Drakes Group of Companies for the courts service; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: The Drakes Group provide services to Her Majesty's Courts Service (HMCS) under the terms of contracts that commenced on 1 April 2006. Regional contract managers employed by HMCS manage the contracts locally. They receive monthly performance reports from Drakes and hold regular meetings to discuss issues, complaints and the provision of services generally. The contracts are monitored centrally and a review of both performance and compliance with the terms of the contract is undertaken every six months.

Freedom of Information Act

Mike Hancock: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs which  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials (i) recommended and (ii) approved the Government's policy that decennial census records for England and Wales should continue to be closed to public inspection for 100 years after the introduction of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 on 1 January 2005.

Harriet Harman: Ministers, rather than civil servants, are responsible and accountable for policy decisions and announcements made by Government.
	The Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs is responsible within Government for both Freedom of Information and the National Archive.
	Since 1966, it has been established Government policy that the decennial census returns should be closed for a period of 100 years. DCA and Treasury Ministers review this policy regularly, acting on advice from the Office for National Statistics and The National Archives.

Magistrates Courts

Adam Holloway: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many magistrates courts have been closed in Gravesham since 1997.

Harriet Harman: Since 1997, Gravesend magistrates court has been closed. The court closed on 9 June 2000.

National Assembly for Wales

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will introduce legislation to provide the National Assembly for Wales with the same tax-varying powers as the Scottish Parliament.

Peter Hain: I have been asked to reply.
	The First Minister, Rhodri Morgan, has said that he does not want tax varying powers. I accept his assessment. The Government of Act 2006 provides Wales with a new constitutional settlement, enabling the Assembly to gain enhanced legislative powers. The Act also formally separates the National Assembly for Wales and the Welsh Assembly Government, clarifying the respective roles of the legislature and the Executive. There are changes to the financial provisions to take account of this separation, but the underlying funding principles will remain the same.

Unpaid Fines

Adam Holloway: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the total value of unpaid fines was in Gravesham in the last year for which records are available.

Harriet Harman: Information on fines imposed and collected is provided by the 42 HMCS court areas, with the Kent area responsible for courts covering Gravesham.
	Current IT systems cannot provide the data requested at court level or isolate figures relating solely to fines which are unpaid—the amount outstanding at the end of 2005-06 in the Kent area was £14,278,163. This includes fines, legal aid, costs and compensation which were imposed in this and previous financial years and are either being paid in accordance with payment plans agreed with the courts or are in arrears.

Warley Magistrates

John Spellar: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many members there are on the Warley magistrates bench; and how many live in the post code area  (a) B65,  (b) B66,  (c) B67,  (d) B68 and  (e) B69.

Harriet Harman: There are 146 magistrates on the Warley magistrates bench. Listed in the following table are those that live in the specific post code areas.
	
		
			   Number 
			  (a) B65 14 
			  (b) B66 4 
			  (c) B67 18 
			  (d) B68 23 
			  (e) B69 18

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

National Lottery

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been spent on Lottery ticket purchases in  (a) Thurrock and  (b) the Thurrock constituency since the launch of the national lottery in 1994.

Richard Caborn: holding answer 9 October 2006
	The National Lottery operator, Camelot, does not collect ticket sales information on a constituency basis and does not routinely collect ticket sales data on a postcode basis. The most up-to-date sales data by postcode area are available in the Libraries of both Houses and provides information up to 2004.

Olympic Games

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether the Olympic delivery authority will be required to monitor the ethnicity of owners and workforces of companies contracted to work on projects for the 2012 Olympics.

Richard Caborn: The Olympic delivery authority is currently developing its equalities and diversity strategy, including a Race Equality scheme as required under the Race Relations Act 1976 (Statutory Duties) Order 2006. The strategy will consider the ODAs arrangements for monitoring its policies for any adverse impact on the promotion of race equality, which may include collecting relevant information from its contract partners. The strategy is expected to be issued for consultation later this year.

VisitBritain

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many bookings have been made with tourist operators through VisitBritain's England net service since the scheme's inception; and what her Department's projections were for those numbers.

Shaun Woodward: Formal monitoring of referrals and the bookings which result from them on the EnglandNet platform began in April 2006. Between April and August 2006, 2,948 referrals were made from EnglandNet to providers' websites, from which 428 bookings resulted. During September 2006, 1,018 referrals were made to providers' websites, but the number of resultant bookings is not yet available.
	My Department has made no projections regarding bookings resulting from referrals via EnglandNet.

DEFENCE

Armoured Vehicles

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Snatch Landrovers are being used by British forces in Iraq.

Adam Ingram: For UK holdings, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 14 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1230W. I am withholding details of the military capability deployed on operations since its disclosure would reveal the strength and capability of UK forces operating in theatre, and could have a bearing on operational security.

Carbon Emissions

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 24 July 2006,  Official Report, column 771W, on emission permits, what costs were levied to the Department for exceeding the allocated carbon dioxide emission permits.

Derek Twigg: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my predecessor gave on 10 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1430W, which details the cost to the Ministry of Defence of buying additional carbon emission permits for the first year (2005-06) of operation of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme.

Carbon Emissions

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the total carbon emission from his Department's buildings in each year since 1997;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the total carbon emission from military establishments  (a) in the UK and  (b) based abroad in each year since 1997.

Derek Twigg: The estimated Ministry of Defence carbon emissions from buildings within the UK and Overseas defence estate in each year since 1997 are:
	
		
			  Emissions in CO2 tonnes 
			   UK Defence Estate  Overseas Defence Estate  Total 
			 1996-97 — — 2023 
			 1997-98 — — 1837 
			 1998-99 — — 1878 
			 1999-2000 1684.9 361.5 2046.4 
			 2000-01 1665.8 361.5 2027.3 
			 2001-02 1574.5 356.0 1930.5 
			 2002-03 1592.5 353.8 1946.3 
			 2003-04 1614.1 367.0 1981.1 
			 2004-05 1655.9 354.5 2010.4 
		
	
	It is not possible to separate out UK and overseas emissions prior to 1999 and figures for 2005-06 are not yet available. However the latter will be published later this year in the Sustainable Development Commission's Sustainable Development in Government Report 2005-06, a copy of which will be placed in the Library of the House.

Departmental Child Care Facilities

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which of his Department's premises have child care facilities on site.

Derek Twigg: The Ministry of Defence currently has 46 work place nurseries, details of which are listed as follows.
	 Location
	Abbey wood
	Andover
	Arborfield
	Bovington
	Bovington
	Bramcote, Nuneaton
	Brecon
	Brompton
	Brompton
	Bulford
	Colchester
	Donnington
	Ensleigh
	Farnborough
	Feltham
	Foxhill
	HMNB Clyde
	HMS Collingwood
	HMS Drake
	HMS Nelson
	HMS Seahawk
	HMS Sultan
	Kineton
	Litchfield
	London Main Building
	London
	Northwood
	RAF Benson
	RAF Boulmer
	RAF Coningsby
	RAF Cosford
	RAF Cottesmore
	RAF Halton
	RAF High Wycombe
	RAF Innsworth
	RAF Kinloss
	RAF Leeming
	RAF Marham
	RAF Northolt
	RAF Stafford
	RAF Wyton
	RNAS Yeovilton
	Shrivenham
	Taunton
	Thirsk
	HMS Excellent

Departmental Child Care Facilities

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether there are waiting lists for places at child care facilities which his Department provides for its employees.

Derek Twigg: The Ministry of Defence has 46 work place nurseries, 27 of which had waiting lists in September.

Energy Consumption

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of his Department's energy was derived from renewable sources in 2005-06.

Derek Twigg: The final Ministry of Defence energy consumption figures for 2005-06, including the proportion of energy derived from renewable sources, are not yet available. However, they will be published later this year in the Sustainable Development Commission's Sustainable Development in Government Report, a copy of which will be placed in the Library of the House.

Energy Consumption

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the opportunities for microgeneration on his Department's property as a means of sourcing energy for use by the Department.

Derek Twigg: It is departmental policy to maximise energy supply from renewable sources by exploiting all through-life renewable energy supply opportunities that offer value for money. A range of appraisal tools and evaluation methodologies have been mandated within the Department to prompt consideration of the potential to improve energy efficiency, promote the use of renewables and explore the procurement of energy that has been generated in environmentally acceptable ways.
	The Ministry of Defence is working in partnership with the Carbon Trust to identify opportunities to increase the number of self-generating renewable technology schemes, including microgeneration, installed on the defence estate.

Environmental Policies

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what advice his Department sought on sustainable building practices prior to the commencement of major building projects in each of the last five years.

Derek Twigg: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) routinely liaises with a wide range of stakeholder organisations and other Government Departments on buildings. Since 2001, the MOD has been developing and applying sustainable polices to all major building including MOD Headquarters Main Building, the Welbeck New Sixth Form Defence College at Loughborough and the Allenby Connaught Private Finance Initiative.
	As part of the process MOD has developed a Sustainability Appraisal Handbook for identifying significant environmental impacts on future developments; launched the Better Defence Buildings and the Design Excellence Evaluation Process (supported by an innovative web based environmental assessment tool for Defence Construction projects). The Department is also integrating the Office of Government Commerce common minimum standards into its ways of working in order to further improve the delivery and procurement of construction on the defence estate.

Environmental Policies

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what recent steps have been taken to  (a) minimise water consumption,  (b) reduce energy use,  (c) conserve energy and  (d) reduce waste in his Department's (i) offices and (ii) properties;
	(2)  what measures have been put in place at  (a) barracks,  (b) training centres and  (c) administrative offices to minimise energy consumption.

Derek Twigg: The Ministry of Defence's (MOD) Annual Sustainable Development Report 2005 published in August 2006, addresses all aspects of MOD's performance with regard to Sustainable Development and progress against wider Government Sustainable Development targets, which includes water consumption, energy usage, and waste management. The report highlights areas of success and illustrates actions underway across the estate as a whole and can be viewed at http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/WhatWeDo/HealthandSafety/DSC/SustamableDevelopmentAnnualReport2005.htm.

Hearing Loss

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many servicemen and women have received an award for noise-induced hearing loss since the introduction of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.

Derek Twigg: There have been no awards made for noise-induced hearing loss under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme since it came into force.
	The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme applies to injuries or illnesses caused on or after 6 April 2005. Hearing loss caused by chronic exposure to noise in service is increasingly an historical phenomenon: since the mid-1960s, precautions and equipment have been introduced to protect the hearing of Service personnel from noise relating to service, including that arising in combat.

Iraq

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of the defence budget is allocated to running the Basra Provincial Reconstruction Team.

Adam Ingram: The UK-led Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Basra is a multi-national, inter-agency operation. The only PRT costs currently being met by the defence budget are those associated with the salaries of around 10 military personnel embedded in the PRT. These costs total approximately £500,000 per annum.

Munitions

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what UK stockpiles are of  (a) Shell 155 mm HE ERBS L20 and M58 submunitions,  (b) Rocket POD 298 mm HE M26 and M26 submunitions,  (c) Shell 155 mm HE M483 and relevant submunitions,  (d) CRV 7 Multi Purpose Sub Munition and  (e) B755 Cluster Bombs.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence holds ammunition stockpiles in the UK and overseas. A stockpile of 16,871 Shells 155 mm HE M483 are held, but this ammunition has been withdrawn from service and the residual stocks are being disposed of. Information on quantities of in service ammunition is classified and as such is withheld as disclosure would not be in the national interest.

Munitions

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the availability of supplies of 30mm ammunition for the chain gun of the Apache helicopter.

Adam Ingram: The Apache Attack Helicopter Mkl uses two types of light-weight 30mm ammunition; Target Practise (TP) and High Explosive, Dual Purpose (HEDP). TP is procured on a rolling basis to meet training requirements. HEDP is held as war stock with stock levels based on Defence Planning Assumptions. There are sufficient supplies available of both types of ammunition to meet training and operational requirements.

Weapons Policy

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 24 July 2006,  Official Report, column 797W, on weapons policy, under what circumstances weapons are provided to  (a) UK and  (b) other civilians in (i) Iraq and (ii) Afghanistan who are not employed by his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: We do not, as a matter of routine, provide weapons to civilians in Iraq or Afghanistan.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Apprenticeships

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of 16 to 18-year-olds have taken up full-time apprenticeships.

Phil Hope: At end 2005, there were 127,200 16 to 18-year-olds participating on Apprenticeships (Apprenticeships and Advanced Apprenticeships) in England. This was 6.4 per cent. of the total 16 to 18 population.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he will reply to the letter of 13 July 2006 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs. K. Wilson.

Parmjit Dhanda: Andrew Adonis, the Minister with responsibility for special educational needs, replied to the right hon. Member's letter on 18 July. The Department has checked with the right hon. Member's office and confirmed that the reply did not arrive. A copy of the reply was faxed to the right hon. Member's office on 3 October.

Departmental Expenditure

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was spent by  (a) his Department,  (b) its agencies and  (c) its non-departmental public bodies in respect of hotel and other similar privately-provided accommodation (i) in the UK and (ii) abroad for (A) Ministers, (B) staff and (C) other persons in each year since 2001-02.

Parmjit Dhanda: Details of hotel accommodation expenditure incurred by the Department over the last five years are set out in the following table.
	
		
			   Accommodation expenditure (£) 
			 2005-06 1,053,065 
			 2004-05 1,155,459 
			 2003-04 1,440,033 
			 2002-03 1,372,701 
			 2001-02 1,218,855 
		
	
	The Department has engaged an agent to arrange hotel accommodation for DfES staff that stay overnight when on official business. The hotel expenditure recorded relates to all hotel accommodation booked via the Agent and billed separately to the Department. The recorded expenditure does not include hotel accommodation booked independently as such expenditure is accounted for under a general heading of subsistence.
	Details of official foreign travel expenditure incurred by the Department over the last five years are set out in the following table.
	
		
			   Travel expenditure (£) 
			 2005-06 250,521.17 
			 2004-05 179,765.46 
			 2003-04 218,358.27 
			 2002-03 243,096.69 
			 2001-02 510,242.47 
		
	
	Hotel accommodation abroad cannot be extracted from the overall costs of foreign travel. Ministers and DfES staff travelling abroad are entitled to claim an allowance covering each 24 hour period or part thereof. The 24 hour rate covers the cost of accommodation at a good class hotel, three meals a day, service charges and taxes. The expenditure recorded does not include foreign travel costs that may be charged to a programme account, so this cannot be easily extracted within disproportionate cost. The Department does not have any Executive Agencies. The Department currently has 18 NDPBs. They are independent organisations and records are not held centrally by the Department about their accommodation expenses. To extract those costs would involve disproportionate cost.

Disability Equality

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether he has made an assessment of which policy areas will be considered in his report on progress towards disability equality within the education and skills sector.

Phil Hope: The Disability Discrimination Act 2005 imposes a legal duty upon public authorities to look pro-actively at ways of ensuring that disabled people are treated equally. Furthermore the Act also requires certain Secretaries of State to publish a report by December 2008 which:
	"gives an overview of progress made by public authorities operating in the relevant policy sector towards equality of opportunity between disabled people and other people; and
	sets out the proposals for the co-ordination of action by public authorities operating in that sector so as to bring about further progress towards equality of opportunity between disabled people and other people."
	Policy Officials are currently in the process of preparing the department's first Disability Equality Scheme which, in accordance with the Disability Discrimination Act 2005, will be published on 4 December 2006. In preparation for the Scheme all policies, functions and services are currently being assessed to establish whether disabled people are being disadvantaged in any way and, where this is the case, steps identified to remedy this. In light of this no formal decision has yet been taken on which policy areas will be considered for inclusion within the 2008 report on progress towards disability equality within the Education and Skills sector. However equality of opportunity for all is paramount throughout the department and all areas will be considered for inclusion.

Disability Equality

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how disabled people were involved in the production of his Department's disability equality scheme.

Phil Hope: The Government are committed to improving the position of disabled people in society and believes that public bodies should take the lead in promoting equality for all. The Department welcomes the new legislative duties under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 2005. The involvement of disabled people has been central to the development of our Disability Equality Scheme (DES), which will be published on 4 December 2006.
	Involving disabled people is a requirement of the specific duty to create a DES. Involvement has also had a significant impact on how we look at our programmes, policies and services, and identify priorities for development. The Department has involved disabled people in the development of its DES in several different ways. These include through existing forums of current service users; representation on an overarching Steering Group for the production of the DES; discussions with individual disabled people, who also lead organisations concerned with disability equality, about their priorities for change; seeking the views of local organisations of disabled people; seeking the views of our Departmental Disability Group (DDG); seeking the views of visually impaired members of staff on formats for publication of the Scheme; and attendance at a conference to listen to the views of disabled people.

Disability Equality

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he plans to publish the disability equality scheme for his Department; and in what formats.

Phil Hope: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 19 September 2006, PQ number 91185.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people claimed education maintenance allowance in  (a) Milton Keynes and  (b) England in 2005.

Parmjit Dhanda: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council, who operate education maintenance allowances for the DfES and hold the information about take-up of the scheme. Mark Haysom, the Council's Chief Executive, has written to the hon. Member with the information requested and a copy of his reply has been placed in the Library.
	 Letter from Mark Haysom dated 6 October 2006
	I am writing in response to your parliamentary Question that asked "how many people claimed education maintenance allowance in  (a) Milton Keynes and  (b) England in 2005"
	During the 2005-06 academic year 1,641 young people in the Milton Keynes local authority area had applied, enrolled and received one or more Education Maintenance Allowance payments.
	During the 2005-06 academic year 428,117 young people in England had applied, enrolled and received one or more Education Maintenance Allowance payments.
	Trust this information is helpful.

Foster Care Allowance

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many grandparents receive a foster care allowance.

Parmjit Dhanda: All approved foster carers—including grandparent carers—receive an allowance in respect of each looked-after child in their care. We do not hold information on the number of grandparent foster carers. However, at 31 March 2005, 7,500 looked-after children were placed with a relative or friend. This represents around 18 per cent. of all looked-after children in foster care on that date.

Nursery Schools

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children are being funded for free nursery school places in  (a) Gravesham and  (b) Kent.

Beverley Hughes: Since April 2004, all three and four-year-olds have been entitled to a free, good quality, part-time early education place. The free entitlement consists of 12.5 hours early education per week for 38 weeks of the year and will be extended to 15 hours a week by 2010. By that time, parents who wish to do so will also be able to access the free entitlement flexibly across a minimum of three days.
	Figures for January 2006 show that virtually all four-year-old children receive some form of free entitlement. The figure for three-years-olds is 96 per cent. This covers all maintained, private, voluntary and independent providers and represents 541,700 three-year-olds and 559,400 four-year-olds.
	In January 2006 there were 970 part time funded places for three-year-olds and 1,100 part time funded places for four-year-olds in the Gravesham parliamentary constituency. There were 12,400 part time funded places for three-year-olds and 14,900 part time funded places for four-year-olds in the Kent local authority. The latest figures on early education places for three and four-year-olds in England were published in Statistical First Release 32/2006 "Provision for children under five years of age in England—January 2006 (final)" in September, which is available on my Department's website: www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/

Nursery Schools

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what the total amount of funding paid from central government to local authorities per child that attends a free nursery school place in  (a) Gravesham and  (b) Kent was in the last period for which figures are available;
	(2)  how much funding is paid to nursery settings by local authorities per child that attends a free place at nursery school in  (a) Gravesham and  (b) Kent.

Beverley Hughes: Local authorities receive funding for all pre-16 provision, through the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG). This is a ring-fenced DfES grant provided to local authorities to fund educational provision in all types of setting, including private, voluntary and independent settings offering free early education. Funding for under fives is not identified separately within DSG. The DSG guaranteed unit of funding (for each full-time equivalent pupil aged 3 to 15) should not be seen as the level of funding for each pupil but as a mechanism for distributing the total quantum of DSG to local authorities. The total DSG funding provided to Kent county council in 2006-07 is £718 million (a 6.9 per cent. increase per pupil).
	Local authorities are responsible for deciding how best to apply the total funding across different age groups and between different types of provider taking account of local needs and circumstances. The "Code of Practice on the Provision of Free Nursery Education places for Three and Four Year Olds" makes clear that local authorities should fund all providers delivering the free early education entitlement equitably, fairly and transparently.

Sexual Exploitation (Children)

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which government-funded projects provide support to children who have experienced sexual exploitation.

Parmjit Dhanda: There is no central record of government funds given specifically to projects that provide support to children who have experienced sexual exploitation. Support services such as these are delivered through many central, local and voluntary funding initiatives, across a wide variety of different organisations in both the voluntary and statutory sectors, including health-related services. This year, through the Victims Fund, the Government are investing £1.25 million into voluntary and community sector specialist services for victims of sexual violence and abuse, including organisations that offer support to child victims. This takes the total investment to £5.25 million since 2004.
	The Home Office is supporting the development of a national network of sexual assault referral centres. Five of these SARCs provide medical care, counselling and forensic examination specifically for children. Other SARCs have the capacity to refer children needing help and support. The Department of Health recently distributed £12 million capital funding for 2006-07 to primary care trusts, NHS trusts and networks to spend on capital projects to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.
	Successful projects included establishing a number of sexual assault referral centres within paediatric services.

Special Educational Needs

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children received special educational needs statements in the London borough of Bexley in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: The available information is given in the following table.
	
		
			  Children for whom the authority maintains statements of Special Education Needs (SEN): Position in January each year: 2001 to 2006 Bexley local authority area 
			   Total number of children for whom the authority maintains statements of SEN  Number of children for whom statements of SEN were made for the first time 
			 2001 1,255 204 
			 2002 1,333 194 
			 2003 1,421 197 
			 2004 1,479 208 
			 2005 1,526 207 
			 2006 1,568 n/a 
			 n/a = Information on the number of children for whom statements were made for the first time is collected retrospectively.  Source: SEN2 Survey

Special Educational Needs

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he is taking to ensure that statistics are collected by sex, ethnicity, location and severity of their needs on  (a) pupils with statements and  (b) pupils with special educational needs but without statements.

Parmjit Dhanda: Information on the characteristics of pupils with special educational needs is collected via the Department's Schools' Census (SC). The pupil characteristic data collected via SC include indicators relating to gender, ethnic group, home postcode, type of special educational need and whether the pupil is supported through a statement or at "School Action or School Action Plus". The latest Statistical First Release on Special Educational Needs was published in June 2006 and is available at http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000661/SFR23-2006v2.pdf
	Local authority level data on pupils with special educational needs have also been published on the Department's Research and Statistics Gateway at http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000661/index.shtml

Special Educational Needs

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many mainstream schools did not have a special educational needs co-ordinator in post on 1 September in  (a) Gravesham,  (b) Kent and  (c) England.

Parmjit Dhanda: This information is not collected centrally. Under the Education (Special Educational Needs) (Information) (England) Regulations 1999, the governing body of every maintained school must publish prescribed information, including the name of the person who is responsible for co-ordinating the provision of education for pupils with special educational needs (SEN), whether or not the person is known as the SEN co-ordinator.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Departmental Budget

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what areas of his Department's budget are being reduced in 2006-07.

Barry Gardiner: DEFRA has faced a number of budgetary pressures this year estimated to be in the region of £200 million. In order to accommodate these pressures all areas of the Department's spend have been subject to rigorous scrutiny as part of a budget review. The review was comprehensive in nature and has ensured that DEFRA's funding for the current year is placed where it can have the greatest impact. The overall budget for the Department remains unchanged and will be subject to the normal parliamentary approval and scrutiny.

Departmental Offices (Guildford)

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 22 March 2006,  Official Report, column 439W, on departmental offices (Guildford), whether a recommendation has been made to the Management Board on the review of the offices at Epsom Road, Merrow, Guildford; and when he expects a decision to be made by the Management Board on the future of the Guildford site.

Barry Gardiner: A recommendation has not yet been made to the Management Board as the review of the offices at Epsom Road has not yet been finalised. The review is anticipated to be completed by the end of October and at that time a recommendation based on the review and consultations with key stakeholders will be made to Management Board.

Departmental Speech Publications

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many copies of his speech at the Royal Show on 3 July were distributed by post; and what was the total cost of this initiative.

Barry Gardiner: The speech, "One Planet Farming—Towards a shared agenda for the future of farming", was sent to 53,000 farmers. The total cost of the typesetting and print of the document was £10,490 excluding VAT. It was distributed by post with the British Farmer and Grower publication by the NFU, at no additional cost to DEFRA.

Regulation (Full Cost Recovery)

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will estimate the cost to the Environment Agency of the exemption given to the policy of full cost recovery for regulation to farming.

Barry Gardiner: There is no general exemption given to the policy of full cost recovery for the environmental regulation enforced by the Environment Agency (EA) that applies to agriculture.
	In general, the legislation across all industries that involves permits, licences, consents or authorisations provides for charges to be made; other rule-based regulation, which makes general provisions for all (rather than requiring a site-specific approach) does not. A significant part of farm regulation is based on rule-based legislation. The EA's work on rule-based regulation is generally funded by Grant in Aid (GiA).
	There are three areas where special arrangements have been made for the agriculture sector relating to charges. All these originate from the Action Plan for Farming 2000 . They are:
	"The waiving of charges for groundwater authorisations from their initial implementation until they were reinstated after four years in 2005. In this case the shortfall in charges replaced by GiA was of the order of £1 million per annum.
	The Waste Management (England and Wales) Regulations 2006 (Agricultural Waste Regulations) which came into force on 15 May 2006. The Action Plan for Farming (2000) included a Government commitment that registration of exemptions for the agriculture sector would not be chargeable. No estimate on the cost to the EA is available. The Environment Agency and DEFRA are exploring low cost approaches to achieve the desired environmental outcomes in this area.
	The Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations 2000 which require that intensive livestock installations of relevant size thresholds hold a permit. The Action Plan for Farming included a commitment that application and subsistence charges for permits for the intensive livestock sector should be as low as possible. The Environment Agency, in consultation with DEFRA and industry organisations, has developed a low cost approach to PPC for the intensive livestock sector consistent with the lower charges."

Rural Payments Agency

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the  (a) budget allocation and  (b) actual expenditure of the Rural Payments Agency was in each year since 2000.

Barry Gardiner: The gross running costs and budget allocation associated with the administration of the payments by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) since its formation in October 2001 are listed in the following table.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Actuals  Budget 
			 2001-02 119.619 111.401 
			 2002-03 116.147 117.185 
			 2003-04 175.986 192.848 
			 2004-05 229.588 219.011 
		
	
	The above costs associated for 2003-04 were prior to re-statement which occurred as a result the merger of a division of DEFRA into RPA.

Slaughterhouses

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what security is provided for brain stem samples, taken under the sampling procedures in place since the removal of the over 30 month bovines ban, in the time between sampling and despatch to the testing laboratory;
	(2)  which agency is responsible for carrying out and collecting brain stem samples under the sampling procedures introduced following the lifting of the ban on over 30 month bovines entering the human food chain.

Barry Gardiner: The taking of brain stem samples and their subsequent packaging, despatch and transportation to the laboratory is the responsibility of the slaughterhouse operator. The Meat Hygiene Service (MHS) carry out periodic checks on the sampling and packaging process.
	New controls are being introduced to strengthen arrangements to ensure the authenticity of any sample taken. These include (i) notification to the MHS when slaughterhouse staff are trained using brain stems from cattle aged under 30 months; (ii) MHS supervision of the destruction of these samples; (iii) monitoring by MHS of the sealing of biohazard bags containing samples; (iv) the introduction of a unique serial number for such bags; (v) and the introduction of tamper-evident sample pots.

Terrorism

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what precautionary protective measures have been taken to secure food stocks against an agro-terrorist attack.

Barry Gardiner: It is not Government policy to publicise the detail of such measures. However, I can confirm that DEFRA works closely with the food industry, the Food Standards Agency and other parts of the Government to anticipate threats, and to assist the food industry in taking measures to reduce the risk from agro-terrorism.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government hope to achieve in Afghanistan over the next three years; and what yardsticks will be used to assess  (a) progress and  (b) success.

Kim Howells: The UK, along with the Afghan Government and our international partners, is committed to a secure, stable and democratic Afghanistan. The framework to achieve this is set out in the Afghanistan Compact, agreed and adopted in London in January 2006. The Compact provides a clear framework for progress, measured against a series of benchmarks. Under the Afghanistan Compact, a Joint Co-ordination and Monitoring Board (JCMB) has been established to oversee strategic co-ordination of the implementation of the Compact. The JCMB provides regular public reports on progress made against the benchmarks and is the apparatus by which the international community, including the UK, will measure success in Afghanistan. A copy of the Afghanistan Compact has been placed in the Library of the House and is available on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website at http://www.fco.gov.uk/serv1et/Front?pagename=Open Market/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=l134650705195.
	In addition, the Enduring Relationship Declaration, agreed between the UK and Afghanistan in July 2005 provides for an annual review of goals and priorities, as well as a strategic review of future co-operation in 2015. A copy of this has also been placed in the Library of the House.

Burma

Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what powers are available to the Government to require disclosure of which companies are importing what goods from Burma.

Dawn Primarolo: I have been asked to reply.
	Council Regulation EEC 2913/92 and its implementing provisions Commission Regulation 2454/93, require all goods being imported into the United Kingdom from a third country to make a customs declaration. The declaration must include details of the origin of the goods, a description of the goods and the name and address of the importer.
	Goods cannot be entered into free circulation without the submission of a customs declaration and subsequent clearance by Customs. There are both civil and criminal sanctions for incorrect or false information provided in a customs declaration.

Burma

Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the Government will require companies importing goods from Burma to label them as such.

Dawn Primarolo: I have been asked to reply.
	All importers are required under European Community legislation to declare the country of origin of goods on the import Customs declaration.

Burma

Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps have been taken to prevent British dependent territories being used to channel inappropriate investments into Burma.

Kim Howells: The British Overseas Territories have the responsibility for ensuring that companies based in their territories do not invest in the Burmese state-owned enterprises named in The Burma (Restrictive Measures) (Overseas Territories) Order 2004 (Statutory Instruments (SI 2004/1979) and The Burma (Restrictive Measures) (Overseas Territories) (Amendment) Order 2004 (SI 2004/3333). These two orders prohibit, amongst other things, making funds, financial assets or economic resources available to the extensive list of individuals listed under Council Common Position 2004/423/CFSP. The orders also ban, with certain exemptions, new investment in listed Burmese state-owned enterprises. These orders do not however apply in Bermuda and Gibraltar. In the case of Gibraltar, the EU Common Position is applied through Gibraltar's Export Control (Sanctions, etc) Orders 2005 and 2006, and the Burma, Freezing of Funds and Economic Resources, (no.2) Regulations 2005. The Government of Bermuda has not yet implemented the necessary legislation, but we are discussing this with them. We have seen no evidence that investments covered by the EU Common Position have been successfully routed through any of the Overseas Territories.

Cambodia

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the passing of the proposed law imposing a prison term for adultery in Cambodia on human rights in that country.

Kim Howells: We remain concerned about the human rights situation in Cambodia. It is too early to make an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed law criminalising adultery. However, our Embassy in Phnom Penh has raised our concerns with the Cambodian Ministry of Women's Affairs. The Minister has indicated that she, along with most women in Cambodia, also has some concerns about some aspects of the law, which she intends to address in a meeting with law experts, leading donors and non-governmental organisations.

Chad

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether she is planning to make representations to the World Bank arguing that loans should be halted to Chad following the expulsion of Chevron and Petronas.

Kim Howells: We have no plans to make representations to the World Bank. Chad has not implemented its threat to expel Chevron and Petronas since both have now settled the disputed tax payments. Both companies are now free to resume operations in Chad.

Chad

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the implications of President Deby's decision to expel Chevron and Petronas from Chad.

Kim Howells: Both companies will remain in operation in Chad, as a result of their settling the disputed tax payments. We look to host Government authorities to put in place fair and transparent tax regulations and to have proportionate systems of redress should such regulations be violated.

Child Soldiers

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps she is taking to ensure that UNSCR 1612 is effective in preventing the continued recruitment of child soldiers around the world.

Geoff Hoon: Child rights are one of the top three human rights priorities for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. An important focus is the issue of children affected by armed conflict, including the recruitment of children into armed forces and armed groups. The UK supported the establishment of a UN monitoring and reporting mechanism on this issue and is actively involved in the UN Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, established by UN Security Council Resolution 1612, to follow up reports from this mechanism. The UK welcomes the efforts of the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative on Children and Armed Conflict to advocate the rights of children affected by armed conflict. The UK encourages all states who have not yet signed or ratified the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflicts to do so as soon as possible.
	Ministers and officials have made representations on this issue. My right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs (Mr. McCartney), raised our concerns on a number of issues in Burma including the recruitment of child soldiers with the Burmese ambassador in London in June, and in writing to the Burmese Foreign Minister in July. During 2005, officials were active in a series of EU démarches in countries where the use of child soldiers is a particular problem, such as Burundi, Colombia, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Nepal, Sudan and Uganda. The UK has also sought to ensure that disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration programmes are sustainable and make appropriate provision for the particular needs of children. This has included specific assistance in a number of the countries listed—for example, the Ministry of Defence's assistance in reforming recruiting practices in the Sierra Leone army.

Consultants

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the total value was of contracts entered into by her Department with  (a) ER consultants and  (b) Praesta in each of the last three years; and which Ministers have made use of their services.

Geoff Hoon: Praesta's Partners LLP total value of contracts with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in each of the last three financial years is as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2004-05 83,248.75 
			 2005-06 56,400.00 
			 2006 to date 20,462.63 
		
	
	These contracts did not involve Ministers.
	The FCO has not contracted work from ER consultants.

Departmental Child Care Facilities

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which of her Department's premises have childcare facilities on site.

Geoff Hoon: There are two on-site nurseries located in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Main Building and Hanslope Park, Milton Keynes.

Departmental Child Care Facilities

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether there are waiting lists for places at childcare facilities which her Department provides for its employees.

Geoff Hoon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office nursery in King Charles Street has four waiting lists, broken down in the following categories: under one; under two; over two; and over three.
	The under one list is the longest with 17 parents currently waiting. For the rest, there are six parents in the under twos and nine in the over twos. There is currently no waiting list for the over threes.
	The Nursery in Hanslope Park, Milton Keynes also has four waiting lists as follows: three months—one year; one—two years; two—three years; and three—school age.
	Only the three months—one year list is currently operating with 10 parents waiting.

International Criminal Court

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps she is taking to ensure that Joseph Kony and his supporters are brought before the International Criminal Court.

Kim Howells: In July 2004, the International Criminal Court (ICC) launched an investigation into the situation in Northern Uganda, following referral of the situation by the Government of Uganda. The ICC issued warrants for the arrest of five Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) commanders, including Joseph Kony, in October 2005. Raska Lukwiya, one of the indictees, is believed to have been killed in August 2006.
	The UK is a strong supporter—in principle and in practice—of the ICC. We believe it is imperative to tackle impunity, to deter others taking up arms and terrorising civilians.
	Responsibility to effect the arrest warrants lies in the first instance with the states on whose territory the LRA commanders are believed to be—in this case, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
	We continue to urge all parties, in particular the Governments of Uganda, the DRC and Sudan to fulfil their commitments to the ICC and we welcome the fact that these Governments are co-operating with the Court.

Iran

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the International Atomic Energy Agency is next expected to report on the implementation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty Safeguards Agreement in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Margaret Beckett: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General, Dr. Mohammed El-Baradei, issued a report on 31 August 2006, as requested in United Nations Security Council Resolution 1696. This was discussed by the IAEA Board of Governors on 11 September and published on 14 September. The report (GOV/2006/53) can be found on the IAEA's website at www.iaea.org. Dr. El-Baradei has not said when he next plans to report and the Security Council has not yet made another specific request.
	Dr. El-Baradei's report indicates that Iran is not co-operating adequately with the IAEA and has not taken the steps required by the IAEA Board and the Security Council, including suspending fully its uranium enrichment-related and reprocessing activities. This is of deep concern. With our international partners, we are now considering next steps.
	Iran will be discussed at the next IAEA Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, which will begin on 23 November.

Iran

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make a statement on UK policy in dealing with Iran's nuclear plans.

Kim Howells: Iran's nuclear activities are of great concern. The nature of the Iranian programme, Iran's history of concealment and its continuing failure to co-operate fully with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have intensified international concerns that the aims may not be, as Iran claims, entirely peaceful.
	Despite intense and prolonged efforts to encourage Iran to take the steps required by the IAEA Board of Governors and the UN Security Council, Iran has not done so. The most recent report by the IAEA Director-General, Dr. Mohammed El-Baradei, makes clear that Iran has not suspended its uranium enrichment-related and reprocessing activities. In Resolution 1696, adopted on 31 July, the Security Council made a full suspension mandatory on Iran.
	On 6 June, EU High Representative Javier Solana presented to Iran a set of far reaching proposals on behalf of the E3+3 (UK, France, Germany and China, Russia, US). These would give Iran everything it needs to develop a modern nuclear power industry, and other benefits, while addressing international concerns. We are disappointed that Iran has not taken the steps required to enable negotiations to begin.
	In Resolution 1696, the Security Council expressed its intention to take appropriate measures under Article 41 of the UN Charter—which might include sanctions—if Iran failed to comply. Together with our partners, we are presently considering next steps. The E3+3 proposals remain on the table, and if Iran meets the requirements of the IAEA Board and Security Council, we are prepared to suspend further activity in the Security Council. But if it does not, Iran should be in no doubt that the Security Council will respond.

Israel

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Minister for Trade's statement in the Westminster Hall Debate on Israel (War against Terror) of 4 July 2006,  Official Report, column 223WH, when the Minister for Trade will write to the hon. Member for Lichfield; and if he will include an answer on whether the political wing of Hezbollah will be proscribed.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs will write to the hon. Member for Lichfield shortly, and will include an answer to the question on Hezbollah.

Israel

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps diplomats at the UK Consulate-General in Jerusalem have taken since June 2005 to monitor conditions in the community of Jayyous.

Kim Howells: Our Consulate-General in Jerusalem continues to monitor developments in the west bank and Gaza, including in Jayyous, closely. The Consulate- General works closely with the UN and receives regular updates from non-governmental organisations who make field observations. In addition to this, the Consulate-General make their own visits to places in the west bank. We remain deeply concerned by the closure regime in the west bank, including the impact of the barrier. In Jayyous, as in many parts of the west bank, the route of the barrier has cut Palestinian farmers off from the land and transport of agricultural produce to west bank markets is hindered by tight Israeli closure policies.

Israel

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions since June 2005 diplomats at the UK Consulate-General in Jerusalem have made representations to the Israeli government regarding conditions in the community of Jayyous.

Kim Howells: Our Consulate-General in Jerusalem has not made any representations to the Israeli Government about the community in Jayyous, as they deal primarily with our bilateral relations with the Palestinian Authority. However, an official from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office last raised freedom of movement issues with the Israeli embassy in London on 4 October. Our embassy in Tel Aviv regularly raises these issues with the Israeli Government. We have not raised the community of Jayyous specifically with the Government of Israel.

Romania

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what part the Department has played in helping to oversee the reform of child care as part of the conditions for the entry of Romania into the EU; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: The UK's operational assistance to Romania's reform process has been through a project run by the Department for International Development (DFID). DFID led the £1.8 million project to assist and support the Romanian Government and specifically the National Authority for Child Protection and Adoption (NACPA) in addressing the needs of children, particularly those in the care system. This ran from October 2000 to February 2005.
	Specific outputs of the project included a draft Children's Act prepared; adoption legislation passed and implemented; professional guidelines for implementation of new adoption laws in place and implemented; integrated child care policy developed and implemented; and support for the NACPA regarding human resources strategy and appropriate structures for discharging responsibilities.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's part in assisting in the reform process has been through the proactive role played by our embassy in Bucharest in the following completed projects:
	 Mana Association Timisoara:
	Programme targeted at street children and children from dysfunctional families to improve social and interpersonal skills through art therapy (music, theatre and painting);
	 Catalysis Income Generation and Employment project:
	Project for 18-year-old children who are forced to leave the institutionalised care offered by the state, aiming to teach them professional and social skills (cooking, cleaning, housekeeping, etc.); and
	 Therapy through Art Association:
	Programme provided psycho-diagnosis and rehabilitation services to children with disabilities in a daily centre in Timisoara.
	The goal of EU membership has led to substantial reforms in children's rights in Romania, as the Commission's report of 26 September sets out. It is an area we have followed closely. My predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland, raised the issue with the Romanian Government in a visit to Bucharest in February 2006. We are pleased to see Romania working hard to overcome this legacy from the Ceausescu era. We will continue to monitor the situation following accession.

Romania

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the EU has taken to ensure that the Romanian child care system is functioning properly; and what funding the EU has made available for this.

Geoff Hoon: During the pre-accession phase, the EU has monitored Romania's implementation of the Copenhagen criteria. Romania is also bound to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as the European Human Rights Convention.
	Since the mid 1990s, Romania has undertaken substantial reforms in the child protection field. In their 26 September report, the European Commission highlighted several examples of good progress, including closing large child care institutions, and judged that Romania has a system comparable to many other European member states.
	The EU has given around £160 million over the last 15 years to improve public care for children. With this help, the majority of the large residential orphanages have been closed down and replaced with better alternatives such as smaller homes or foster care. The EU has also supported a major public information campaign in Romania since 2001 to raise awareness of alternatives to the institutionalisation of children, and of the rights of children to proper care. Furthermore, an independent panel of EU family law experts was formed to assist the Romanian authorities in preparing their new legislation, which the Commission judge to be in line with UN principles.

Romania

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she has received from non-government organisations based in Romania responsible for childcare; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has received representations through correspondence from non-governmental organisations and charities to our Embassy in Bucharest and Mission to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. Most recently, for example, we have been in dialogue with the Smiles Foundation. As well as maintaining regular dialogue with the Romanian authorities on the issue of children's rights, the Embassy has assisted in various projects to help with the process of reform.

Sir Michael Jay

Richard Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the cash equivalent transfer value was of the total accrued pension and related lump sum for Sir Michael Jay as at 31 March; and what this figure was on 28 July.

Geoff Hoon: As at 31 March 2006, the cash equivalent transfer value of Sir Michael Jay's accrued pension and lump sum was £141,819.
	On his last day of service, 18 August 2006, the value stood at £144,405. The increase was due to Sir Michael's 2006 pay award, paid from 1 April.
	Although Sir Michael stood down from his position as Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 28 July, his last day of service, after taking outstanding leave, was 18 August 2006.

Somalia

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make a statement regarding the political situation in Somalia between the Government and the Union of Islamic Courts.

Kim Howells: The political situation in Somalia remains fragile. Talks in Khartoum between the Transitional Federal Institutions and the Union of Islamic Courts have produced two agreements, but the Union of Islamic Courts' takeover of the city of Kismayo casts doubts on their commitment to reconciliation.
	We urge the Union of Islamic Courts to respect the Transitional Federal Charter and to remain committed to the Khartoum dialogue. We continue to urge both sides to remain committed to the agreements reached at Khartoum and to work for progress in pursuit of a lasting political process to restore peace and stability to Somalia.

South Africa

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she has made to the South African Government on the Prohibition of Mercenary Activity and Prohibition and Regulation of Certain Activities in the Area of Armed Conflict Bill 2005 on behalf of South African nationals serving in the UK Armed Forces.

Kim Howells: Our high commissioner in Pretoria has made representations to the Government of South Africa on this matter on several occasions, including directly addressing the Defence Select Committee of the South African Parliament during the passage of legislation. My right hon. Friend the Minister Without Portfolio and Party Chair, discussed the Mercenary Bill with South Africa's Deputy Foreign Minister during her visit to South Africa in August. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence expressed concern at the implications of the legislation for South African citizens serving in the British armed forces in a letter to South Africa's Defence Minister on 25 August.

Sudan

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make a statement on the situation in Darfur.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend, the Foreign Secretary issued a written ministerial statement with an update on Sudan on 13 September 2006,  Official Report, columns 130-32WS.
	We remain extremely concerned about the situation in Darfur. We are making clear to Khartoum, and to others with influence over Sudan, that the Government there must end its military offensive immediately. Rebel militias must also halt their unacceptable attacks in Darfur which are hampering international efforts to supply humanitarian relief. The Government of Sudan and the rebel militia leaders must re-engage on the Darfur Peace Agreement, which represents the only way to secure a lasting peace in Darfur.
	We are working with international partners to help secure Sudan's co-operation for a UN deployment to Darfur, as mandated by UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1706. We are also working with the UN and international partners to strengthen the African Union force (AMIS) deployed to Darfur until a UN force is deployed. We welcome the African Union's (AU) decision at its 20 September Peace and Security Council meeting to extend the AMIS mandate to the end of the year and to increase the number of troops in Darfur. It is vital that the AU should have enough resources to carry out its task. It is important for the UN to provide material and logistical support, as mandated by UNSCR 1706, as soon as possible, for the Government of Sudan to do all in its power to expedite the deployment of this additional support, and for the Arab League to make good its pledge of financial assistance.

Sudan

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether President Omar al-Bashir's leave is required for the deployment of a United Nations peacekeeping force in Darfur.

Kim Howells: UN Security Council resolution 1706 (2006) invited the consent of the Government of Sudan to the deployment of a UN mission. We are working with the UN Secretary-General, our international partners at the Security Council, with the African Union and the League of Arab States to secure that consent. In practice, a UN mission is unlikely to succeed in Darfur unless it has the full co-operation of the Government of Sudan as requested by the Security Council.

Sudan

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what  (a)representations she has made and  (b) action she plans to take to gain the consent of the Sudanese Government for troops to be deployed to Darfur.

Kim Howells: The UK co-sponsored UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1706 which was adopted on 31 August. This mandated the deployment of a UN force to Darfur. Since then we have been actively working to build a broad international coalition to persuade President Bashir of the need to agree to a UN force for Darfur.
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary visited Egypt between 5 and 8 September, where she raised Darfur with President Mubarak, the Egyptian Foreign Minister and the Secretary-General of the Arab League.
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and my noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Lord Triesman of Tottenham, then took the opportunity of meetings during the UN General Assembly ministerial week, 18 to 22 September, in New York to raise Darfur with a broad range of international partners who might be able to influence the Government of Sudan. These included the Foreign Ministers of Russia, China, Egypt, the US and numerous African countries, and also the Secretary-General of the UN. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary took a leading role in a meeting of 15 Foreign Ministers on the subject on 22 September. In all of these meetings Ministers stressed the paramount importance of persuading President Bashir to allow the deployment of a UN force for Darfur.
	Our missions overseas are lobbying their host Governments wherever we believe this may make a difference. We have kept in close touch with those visiting Khartoum, including European Commission President Barroso and Development Commissioner Michel, who met President Bashir on 30 September. We will go on maintaining pressure on the Government of Sudan and other parties in Khartoum to cease the armed attacks, implement the Darfur Peace Agreement, support bolstering the African Union force with UN support and accept a transition to a UN force. We encourage others to do the same.

Thailand

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions she has had with the Thai authorities about the murder of Kirsty Jones in 2000.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the then Foreign Secretary raised the murder of Kirsty Jones with the former Thai Minister for Foreign Affairs in February 2006.
	Our embassy in Bangkok continues to monitor the case closely and holds regular senior-level meetings with the Thai department of special investigations in order to update the Jones family on the investigation, most recently on 4 October 2006.

Uganda

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will assess progress in the peace talks between the Government of South Sudan, the Ugandan Government and the Lord's Resistance Army; and whether the British Government have played a role in mediation between the parties.

Kim Howells: We welcome the Government of Southern Sudan's efforts to mediate a peaceful solution to the long-running conflict in northern Uganda. The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and the Government of Uganda are both participating in the Juba-based talks process, which remains fragile. But the signing of a cessation of hostilities agreement on 26 August was an encouraging development. This gave some grounds for hope that permanent peace is possible. But it is too early to say that the conflict is over and there may well be some setbacks as the process develops. Both sides will need to show a strong commitment to the mediation process.
	We continue to follow events closely. The Governments involved have not made any direct requests for assistance, and we have not played a role in the mediation. We, along with other partners, expect to receive a request from the UN for financial assistance for the talks shortly.

Uganda

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the recent truce between the Lord's Resistance Army and the Ugandan Government; and what support the Government are prepared to commit to ensuring this truce is maintained.

Kim Howells: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Mr. Drew) today (UIN 88109).

UN Resolution 1325

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in her dealings with which countries consideration has been given to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325.

Kim Howells: In the context of regular discussions on conflict-related issues, officials within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office engage with interlocutors from a wide range of countries bilaterally and within the UN, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the EU on how nations can individually and collectively support the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325.
	Bilateral exchanges specifically on UNSCR 1325 have been held with Sweden, Canada and Norway. We have exchanged ideas, best practice and lessons learnt on the development of a National Action Plan and on how we can effectively mainstream gender into all aspects of humanitarian, conflict, defence and diplomacy work.
	In our regular contacts with troop contributing countries to UN missions we highlight the importance of ensuring that training of all military and police, and in particular training of those who are to be deployed on international peacekeeping operations contains suitable elements on gender awareness and on combating sexual abuse. Officials in posts overseas also lobby locally to explain the UK approach to the implementation of UNSCR 1325 and to encourage their host governments to adopt a similar concerted approach.

UN Resolution 1325

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make a statement on the Government's progress in implementing  (a) United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 since its adoption in October 2000 and  (b) the Government's Action Plan on Resolution 1325.

Kim Howells: The UK has used it Presidencies of the UN Security Council to support the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325. Specific examples of UK activity include UK officials actively seeking opportunities for appropriate references to gender concerns in all UN peacekeeping mandates—recent examples can be found in UN resolutions on peacekeeping operations in Liberia and Sudan; awareness raising events on various issues including mainstreaming gender throughout the Security Council's protection-based work, strengthening the UN's response to gender based violence in conflict and post conflict situations and the development of National Action Plans; providing financial support to the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO's) "Mainstreaming a Gender Perspective in Multi-dimensional Peace Operations" which involved the development of a 'virtual resource centre' for those involved in peace operations to draw on; and UK participation in a Joint Donor Review Mission to four UN Peacekeeping Missions to assess the effectiveness and impact of DPKO's gender work and to identify lessons learned and best practice.
	As part of our commitment to UNSCR 1325, the UK has developed a national action plan to support implementation of this important resolution. The action plan links humanitarian, conflict, defence and diplomacy work, all-important to conflict resolution and peace building. Recent examples of activity under the action plan include providing training to all desk officers in the UK Mission in New York to familiarise them with the provisions of UNSCR 1325 and to demonstrate concrete ways in which UNSCR 1325 can be incorporated into resolutions, reporting and peacekeeping mandates; a seminar at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for UK based staff aimed at raising their awareness of UNSCR 1325 and explain what the UK is doing to support its implementation and what can be done further; the Ministry of Defence is currently carrying out an audit of its Peace Support Operations training to ensure that it deals adequately with the areas covered by UNSCR 1325; and the Department for International Development has recently participated in a workshop organised by the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) Bureau of Crisis Prevention and Recovery in support of UNDP's efforts to mainstream gender throughout their activities.
	The UK is also working closely with the non-governmental organisation Working Group on Women, Peace and Security in New York to support their "October Advocacy Programme" which will coincide with the sixth anniversary celebrations of UNSCR 1325. We are co-hosting a side event with the group and the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women on the development of National Action Plans.
	The Global and Africa Conflict Prevention Pools and Global Opportunities Fund continue to provide the key UK funding mechanism for supporting women and conflict projects around the globe through its many strategies. For example, the Government have co-funded, through the Global Conflict Prevention Pool, a conference on peace and security: implementing UNSCR 1325. The conference was held at Wilton Park between 30 May and 2 June 2006 and provided a forum for discussion on implementation of UNSCR 1325, drawing together policy makers and practitioners in order to find constructive ways forward.

HEALTH

Abortions

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the abortion rate was per 1,000 women aged 15 to 49 years in England in  (a) 1976,  (b) 1979,  (c) 1983,  (d) 1987,  (e) 1992,  (f) 1995,  (g) 1996,  (h) 1997,  (i) 1998,  (j) 1999,  (k) 2000 and  (l) 2001.

Caroline Flint: This information is contained within table 1 of the Statistical Bulletin 2006/01, Abortion Statistics, England and Wales: 2005. This table gives the abortion rates per 1,000 women aged 15-44 from 1968 to 2005. The standard age group for fertility and conception rates is for women aged 15-44 years.
	Copies have been placed in the Library and also on the Department's website at: www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/13/68/59/04136859.pdf

Ambulance Strike

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps have been taken to deal with the local ambulance workers strike in Merseyside and Cheshire.

Rosie Winterton: The North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust has entered into independent mediation in order to attempt to resolve the industrial dispute with ambulance technicians in Cheshire and Merseyside.

Bingo Industry

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the likely impact of a smoking ban on the licensed bingo industry in England.

Caroline Flint: No specific assessment has been carried out of the potential impacts on the bingo industry of the smoke free provisions within the Health Act 2006. The overall costs and benefits of the Health Act are set out in the regulatory impact assessment which is available in the Library or on the Department's website at: www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/Legislation/ RegulatoryImpactAssessment/RegulatoryImpact AssessmentArticle/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4121917 &chk=sUauD/.

Birthing Units

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average cost was of an uncomplicated delivery in each birthing unit in Hampshire in the latest period for which figures are available.

Ivan Lewis: The specific information requested is not held centrally. However, the table gives the average cost of delivery healthcare resource groups (HRGs) for national health service trusts in Hampshire from 2004-2005.
	
		
			   Reference costs (£) 
			   Normal delivery without complications  Assisted delivery without complications  Caesarean Section without complications 
			 Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust 1,085 1,506 2,176 
			 Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust 551 1,147 1,138 
			 Winchester And Eastleigh Healthcare NHS Trust 830 1,051 1,751 
			 North Hampshire Hospitals NHS Trust 1,027 1,524 2,415

Cancer Services

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions there have been between her Department and the Kingston Hospital NHS Trust concerning the proposal to switch secondary and tertiary cancer services from the Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust to The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: There have been no discussions on this matter between the Department and the Kingston Hospital National Health Service (NHS) Trust.
	The proposal to switch secondary and tertiary cancer services from the Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust to The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust is a local matter. It is not for the Department to intervene in such issues. The provision of local health services now rests with local NHS organisations, who, with their specific local knowledge and expertise, are best placed to plan and develop services according to the needs of local people.

Care Costs

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average cost was of delivering an episode of care in  (a) 1979,  (b) 1997 and  (c) the most recent period for which figures are available, at constant prices.

Andy Burnham: pursuant to the reply, 5 July 2006, Official Report,  c. 1208W
	I regret that two figures in the table in my previous reply were incorrect.
	The cost per episode of care for 1997-98 should read £1,131 not £1,159 as printed.
	The cost per episode of care for 2003-04 should read £990 not £1,200 as printed.

Chemical Reagents (Tariff Reduction)

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what basis 12 per cent. was decided to be an appropriate tariff reduction for chemical reagents in primary care; if she will publish the information that provided the evidential basis for that decision, including the range of existing prices in an anonymised form; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The market was informed on 5 September 2006 that Ministers had decided to implement a staged reduction of up to 15 per cent. to the April 2006 drug tariff reimbursement prices for some blood glucose detection strips.
	As of 1 October 2006, reimbursement prices for all affected products were reduced by 12 per cent.
	The decision in regard to the staged approach is a direct consequence of the consultation process and demonstrates clearly that the Department had regard to the responses received and was willing to adjust its proposals accordingly. The final decision aims to recognise the existing services that are provided by suppliers to the benefit of patient care, while at the same time moving to secure better value for money for the national health service overall.
	In arriving at 15 per cent., three sources of information were used: secondary care purchase data, additional secondary care tender data, and information concerning the industry's cost and revenue structures.
	In addition, it was in fact clear from both consultation papers on the arrangements for the provision of chemical reagents to primary care in October 2005 and May 2006:
	that the 15 per cent. figure was an average derived from a comparison between prices in the primary and secondary care markets;
	that the rationale underlying the comparison was that prices in primary care should more closely reflect the market-tested prices available in secondary care; and
	that the price differential between the markets went as high as 35 per cent. and that the reduction proposed was therefore reasonable in the context of the overall range of pricing that the data suggested was reflective of the more competitive environment.
	The data underlying these calculations were given to the Department in confidence, and related to commercially confidential transactions within the NHS. In a market for items manufactured by only seven companies, four of whom collectively account for 97 per cent. of sales, it would not be feasible to publish data in any meaningful form without—whether on its face value or by obvious implication that would be evident to companies in that market—revealing to each manufacturer something about its competitors' pricing.

Dentists

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of NHS paying patients treated were under the new NHS dental contract in each of the three payment bands on 1 September.

Rosie Winterton: Information on the number of courses of treatment carried out between April and June 2006 was published on 9 October. This is broken down into payment bands. The information has been placed in the Library and will be updated quarterly at www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs.
	This information covers courses of treatment delivered rather than patients treated. A patient may receive more than one course of treatment during the measured period.
	Information on the percentage of courses of treatment delivered to charge payers and non-charge payers is expected to be available later in the year.

Dentists

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS dentists had completed  (a) 100 per cent.,  (b) 75 per cent. and  (c) 50 per cent. of their allocated annual units of dental activity on 1 September.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 9 October 2006
	The Information Centre for health and social care plans to publish quarterly information on the number of units of dental activity delivered since 1 April 2006. The information is broken down by strategic health authority and primary care trust. It is not shown broken down by individual dentist or contract. The information could only be provided in the exact form requested at disproportionate cost.
	The Information Centre published the information for April to June on 9 October, which is available at www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dentalstatsq2o6/report/file and a copy has been placed in the Library. The Information Centre expects to publish the information for July to September later in the autumn.

Departmental Publications

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) circulation,  (b) cost and  (c) title is of each publication her Department has issued since 1 July 2005.

Ivan Lewis: A list of Department of Health publications for the period indicated, including those publications co-authored by the Department and published by the Stationery Office, has been placed in the Library, listing the title of each publication. Department of Health publications are available in electronic form on the Department's website (www.dh.gov.uk). The circulation of publications will vary very significantly and it is not possible to specify a circulation list for each document without incurring disproportionate cost.

Heatstroke

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are in place to protect the elderly and young from heatstroke.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has taken steps to ensure appropriate advice and guidance is available to inform vulnerable groups, such as the elderly and young, of the dangers of prolonged high temperatures, and to ensure that health and social care service providers know what actions to take in preparation for, and in the event of, a heatwave. The Department first published its heatwave plan in 2004 and has done so for each subsequent summer. A public information leaflet "A Guide to Looking After Yourself and Others During Hot Weather" is distributed each year as a part of the Department's heatwave plan preparations. The leaflet is available through general practitioners practices, pharmacies, hospitals and other healthcare organisations as well as voluntary sector organisations such as Age Concern and Help the Aged.
	Copies of the publications are available in the Library.

Hospital Parking Fees

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if she will undertake research to evaluate the proportion of net disposable income taken by hospital parking fees for patients on income support;
	(2)  how much was raised from parking fees by each health authority in the last year for which figures are available;
	(3)  if she will make it her policy to protect vulnerable and poor patients from excessive levels of parking charges at hospitals; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: We have no plans to undertake research to evaluate the proportion of net disposable income taken by hospital parking fees for patients on income support. However, those patients who are on income support are eligible for the hospital travel costs scheme which allows them to claim reasonable travel expenses when travelling to hospital. This can include the full reimbursement for car parking fees and petrol expenses where this is the cheapest form of travel which is available to them. The Department does not collect any data centrally on the hospital travel costs scheme.
	The income from car parking from patients and staff for each national health service trust in 2005-06 has been placed in the Library. These data are as provided by NHS organisations, without amendment, on a voluntary basis and therefore will not be complete. The figures provided represent the income received and not the profit from the provision of car parking as maintenance and running costs such as lighting and security will need to be paid.
	It is for NHS trusts to decide what level of car parking to provide and what charges to apply at their sites. In doing so they should take account of guidance from the Department which advises them to consider a range of factors, including offering concessions to certain groups, when implementing car parking charges.

Intensive Care

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been allocated to  (a) intensive care unit beds,  (b) high dependency unit beds and  (c) nurses with the critical skills needed to staff those beds in each year since 1999.

Andy Burnham: The data requested are not centrally collected. It is for local commissioners and providers of critical care to determine, in the light of their case mix and anticipated elective and emergency work load, the appropriate level of investment in intensive and high dependency equipment and staff.

Medical Innovations

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding she has given to research and development companies in respect of medical innovations since 1999.

Andy Burnham: The Department's health technology devices programme was launched in 2002. The cost of the research projects it supports are shared equally between Government and our industrial partners. The programme has to date funded some 25 research projects at a cost of £2.3 million. £834,000 of this total has been paid to industrial partners.

Midwife-led Maternity Units

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how she will respond to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's concerns about midwife-led maternity units.

Ivan Lewis: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) consulted on its draft clinical guideline on intrapartum care between 22 June and 29 August 2006 and the Department, as a registered stakeholder, submitted comments as part of that exercise. Comments from registered stakeholders will be considered by the guideline developers and posted on the NICE website after the final guideline is published.
	We want to ensure that women have as many choices as possible, while minimising any known risk to either themselves or their baby, and continue to expect midwifery-led births to be a realistic option for all women with uncomplicated pregnancies. The choices offered should fall within the safety net of an emergency network that is readily available, should the need arise.

Neurological Conditions

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps her Department is taking to encourage the recruitment of  (a) consultant neurologists,  (b) specialist nurses and  (c) other staff required to implement the national service framework for long-term neurological conditions;
	(2)  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are being taken to develop joint working on the implementation of the National Service Framework for Long Term Neurological Conditions and the Long Term Conditions Strategy; and if she will make a statement;

Rosie Winterton: The role of primary care trusts (PCT) to work jointly with local authorities, and other local partners, to develop and deliver local area agreements (LAAs) for their area has been set out in successive Government guidance on national health service local delivery plans and in correspondence to strategic health authorities.
	LAAs have proved an important catalyst for improved partnership working. Many of the pilot areas have reported a step change in effective partnership and cross-agency planning and working, particularly between the PCT and the local authority in the way services are commissioned. This has contributed to strong performance in outcomes, including implementation of the national service framework (NSF) for long-term conditions and the long-term conditions strategy as detailed in "Supporting People with Long-term Conditions".
	Local employers are responsible for recruiting and retaining the health and social care workforce they need to provide local services. The national strategies and tools are already in place to support trusts to recruit and retain staff, promote training and development and redesign their workforces to implement the NSF over the 10-year timescale.

NHS Isolation Facilities

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS hospital trusts have undertaken a risk assessment of their isolation facilities in the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The Department has issued Health Service Circular 2000/02, "The Management and Control of Hospital Infection", which requires national health service hospital trusts to undertake a risk assessment to determine appropriate provision of isolation facilities within each trust.
	The information on how many trusts undertake a risk assessment of their isolation facilities is not collected centrally.

Nurses

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) number and  (b) cost to the NHS was of (i) temporary and (ii) agency nurses in each year since 1995, broken down by NHS primary care trust area.

Rosie Winterton: The number of temporary and agency nurses, broken down by primary care trust area, is not held centrally by the Department.
	However, expenditure data are available from 1997-98, as are details of the number of whole time equivalent bank nurses from 2001. This information has been placed on the Library.

R and D Funding

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many companies in receipt of research and development funding from the NHS Executive have had their innovations piloted by NHS boards since 1999.

Andy Burnham: None.

Reneuron Group

David Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what contracts the Department has entered into with Reneuron Group plc since 1 January 2005.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 9 October 2006
	The Research and Development Directorate of the Department has not issued any contracts with Reneuron Group plc.

South West SHA

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total financial reserve is for the south west strategic health authority; if she will use the reserve to absorb overspending by health trusts in Gloucestershire; and what guidelines she has issued on this matter.

Andy Burnham: The Department published "The NHS in England: The operating framework for 2006-07" on 26 January 2006. This document, addressed to all national health service chief executives, sets out the specific business and financial arrangements for the NHS for 2006-07.
	In 2006-07, strategic health authorities (SHAs) will take the lead locally in developing and implementing a service and financial strategy for managing the financial position within their locality. This will include creating local reserves. The size of the reserves and any contribution from each primary care trust (PCT) will vary according to local circumstances, but the underlying principle will be fairness. We expect SHAs to maintain the integrity of the allocations system with PCTs entitled to repayment of any contributions over a reasonable period not normally exceeding the three-year allocation cycle.

Sudden Death Syndrome

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding the Department has made available for research into sudden death syndrome in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has not made any funding available for research into sudden death syndrome in each of the last five years. The main agency through which the Government supports medical and clinical research is the medical research council (MRC). The MRC is funding research relating to arrhythmia, which may help further understanding of this condition.

Waiting Lists

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of cancer patients have been waiting longer than four weeks for radiotherapy.

Rosie Winterton: Data on waiting times for radiotherapy are not collected centrally. The national health service cancer plan set out maximum waiting time targets for cancer treatment which may include radiotherapy where this is given as a first definitive treatment. Since December 2005 there has been a maximum two month (62 day) wait from urgent referral by a GP to start of treatment, and a maximum one-month (31 day) wait from diagnosis to first treatment for all cancers. Over 99 per cent., of patients currently receive their first treatment within 31 days of diagnosis, and 94.5 per cent., of patients receive their first treatment within 62 days of an urgent GP referral.
	To tackle radiotherapy waiting times we are increasing the numbers of therapy radiographers in post and in training, making better use of existing staff, making unprecedented investment in new radiotherapy equipment, and streamlining the patient journey. Professor Mike Richards, the National Cancer Director, is also currently working with Royal Colleges, professional bodies, cancer networks and trusts through the national radiotherapy advisory group (NRAG) who are looking into radiotherapy provision and will be reporting in the autumn on recommendations for the future.

Waiting Lists

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were on NHS waiting lists per 100,000 population in each year since 1997.

Andy Burnham: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		
			  In-patient waiting list per 100,000 of the population (England, commissioner based) 
			   Period ending  In-patient waiting list  Mid-year estimate population (Thousand)  Waiting list per 100,000 population 
			 1996-07 March 1997 1,131,201 48,665 2,324 
			 1997-08 March 1998 1,276,965 48,821 2,616 
			 1998-09 March 1999 1,060,356 49,033 2,163 
			 1999-2000 March 2000 1,024,654 49,233 2,081 
			 2000-01 March 2001 995,123 49,450 2,012 
			 2001-02 March 2002 1,021,604 49,647 2,058 
			 2002-03 March 2003 975,338 49,856 1,956 
			 2003-04 March 2004 890,205 50,093 1,777 
			 2004-05 March 2005 808,810 50,432 1,604 
			 2005-06 March 2006 771,107 50,432 1,529 
			 2006-07 August 2006 759,136 50,432 1,505 
			  Note:  Population data for 2006 not available—2005 population figure is used as an estimate.   Source:  Department of Health QF01, ONS populations

Waiting Lists

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients waited more than  (a) three,  (b) six,  (c) nine,  (d) 12,  (e) 15,  (f) 18 and  (g) 24 months for (i) heart operations, (ii) cancer treatment and (iii) hip replacements in (A) 1997 and (B) 1998, broken down by NHS trust.

Andy Burnham: Data on waiting times for trauma and orthopaedics, and cardiothoracic surgery have been placed in the Library.
	Cancer waiting times data are not available for 1997-98. Breast cancer waiting times targets of one month from diagnosis to first treatment were introduced in 2001 and a target of two months from urgent referral to first treatment was introduced in 2002. These targets were extended to all cancer patients from December 2005.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Arrests without Charge

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many adults were arrested and subsequently released without charge in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information requested is not available centrally. Information on arrests held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform is based on persons arrested for recorded crime "notifiable offences" by main offence group (i.e. robbery, sexual offences, theft and handling stolen goods, violence against the person, burglary etc.) only. The subsequent outcome of an arrest is not recorded within this collection.

Cannabis

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what volume of cannabis was confiscated in each year between 2002 and 2005.

Vernon Coaker: The amounts seized in England and Wales, and in Scotland, in the years for which figures are available are set out in the attached table.
	
		
			  Quantity of Cannabis Seized in England and Wales  2002 -05 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Herbal (Kgs) 34,870 29,520 21,380 n/a 
			 Plants (Number) 52,140 80,500 88,670 n/a 
			 Resin (Kgs) 41,410 69,030 62,060 n/a 
			 n/a = not available.  Source:  Seizure of Drugs England and Wales 2004. Home Office Statistical Bulletin 08-06. 
		
	
	
		
			  Quantity of Cannabis Seized in Scotland 2002 - 05 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Herbal (Kgs) 34,870 29,520 n/a n/a 
			 Plants (Number) 52,140 80,500 n/a n/a 
			 Resin (Kgs) 41,410 69,030 n/a n/a 
			 n/a = not available  Source:  Drug Offenders. Home Office Findings 256 3/05.

Class A Drugs

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to reduce demand for opium derivatives originating from Afghanistan in this country.

Vernon Coaker: The Government have a comprehensive strategy to reduce the demand for illegal drugs and their supply, from whatever source. The National Drug Strategy is a cross-Government programme of policies and interventions that concentrates on the most dangerous drugs, particularly heroin and cocaine, the most damaged communities and problematic drug users. The strategy comprises four strands of work:
	preventing young people from becoming drug misusers;
	reducing the supply of illegal drugs;
	increasing the number of individuals accessing effective drug treatment; and
	reducing drug-related crime.
	The Drug Strategy is delivering tangible improvements in communities across the country. Increasing quantities of drugs are being seized and organised crime groups and dealers disrupted. Record numbers are entering and staying in treatment: the numbers in contact with treatment services. Drug-related crime is falling. Class A drug use remains stable among young people aged 16-24, while the use of any illicit drug has fallen by 21 per cent. compared to 1998.

Crime (Milton Keynes)

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken to reduce the number of alcohol-related offences in Milton Keynes.

Vernon Coaker: Thames Valley police is working with trading standards, fire services, environmental services and other relevant bodies to reduce the number of alcohol related offences. Milton Keynes' Basic Command Unit has taken part in Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaigns since the summer of 2004. These campaigns target irresponsible retailers who sell alcohol to drunks and children, as well as individuals who drink irresponsibly and cause alcohol-related crime and disorder. The tactics used in these campaigns include intelligence-led targeting of premises in joint police and Trading Standards test-purchasing operations, as well as early intervention to deal with low level crime and disorder and robust use of penalty notices for disorder fines. The Government continue to encourage all Basic Command Units to incorporate the tactics used in these campaigns as part of their core business.

Criminal Assets

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Answer of 27 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1773W, on criminal assets, what percentage of the value of criminal assets recovered went to HM Treasury; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: As agreed with Her Majesty's Treasury, from 2003-04 all recovered criminal assets have been used in support of the Government's objectives in tackling crime, including organised crime. The proportion claimed by Her Majesty's Treasury is, therefore, nil. Previously all receipts from recovered assets were remitted to Her Majesty's Treasury.

Drink-driving

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been found guilty of driving while intoxicated within London's City and Metropolitan police areas in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: Information taken from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform on findings of guilt for offences of driving etc after consuming alcohol or taking drugs, from 2000 to 2004 (latest available) is given in the following table. The majority of convictions within this offence group are for the offence of
	"driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle while having a breath, urine or blood alcohol concentration in excess of the prescribed limit
	[Road Traffic Act 1988,s. 5 (1) (a)]'.
	Data for 2005 will be available early in 2007.
	
		
			  Findings of guilt at all courts for offences of driving etc after consuming alcohol or taking drugs( 1) , City of London and Metropolitan police force areas—2000-04 
			  Number of offences 
			  Police force  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004( 2) 
			 City of London police 162 162 221 230 169 
			 Metropolitan police 11,801 11,260 12,905 12,621 13,227 
			 (1 )Including the following offences under the Road Traffic Act 1988: Driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle whilst unfit through drink or drugs (impairment), [s. 4(1)]  Driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle while having a breath, urine or blood alcohol concentration in excess of the prescribed limit. [ s. 5 (1) (a) ]  Failing without reasonable excuse to provide a specimen for a laboratory test or two specimens for analysis of breath if at the relevant time, he/she was driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle. [ s. 7 (6) ]  In charge of a motor vehicle while unfit through drink or drugs (impairment). [ s. 4 (2) ] In charge of a motor vehicle while having a breath, urine or blood alcohol concentration in excess of the prescribed limit. [ s. 5 (1) (b) ]  In charge of a motor vehicle and failing to provide a specimen for a laboratory test or two specimens for analysis of breath if at the relevant time, he/she was driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle. [ s. 7 (6) ]  Failing without reasonable excuse to provide a specimen of breath for a preliminary test. [ s. 6 (4) ]  Excluding offences under the Road Traffic Act 1988 s. 3A: Causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs. (2) From 2004 onwards the courts were asked to identify separately drink and drugs offences, under s. 4 (1) and s. 4 (2) of the RTA88, where this information was clearly evident. In 2004 most courts continued to record as combined drink/drugs offences.   Note:  Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Human Trafficking

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures have been put in place to deal with human trafficking from China.

Vernon Coaker: A range of activities have been introduced in China to address the gender inequalities that lead to trafficking and commercial sex work. The Department for International Development is providing £615,000 over four years (2004-08) to an International Labour Organisation project to prevent trafficking in girls and young women for labour exploitation within China. We are also providing support to the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) to strengthen the implementation, monitoring and reporting on the Convention on Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women.

Internet (Terrorism)

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he plans to bring in legislation requiring internet service providers and search engines to censor information deemed to promote incitement to terrorism or the financing of terrorism; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: Section 3 of the Terrorism Act 2006, explicitly extends the application of sections 1 and 2 —encouragement of terrorism and dissemination of terrorist publication—to internet activity. Section 3 of the Act requires the relevant person to take-down material on the internet or other electronic services that is unlawfully terrorism-related.
	As with all forms of terrorist legislation, the Government review its effectiveness and ease of enforcement as and when it is needed.

Money Laundering

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures have been put in place to tackle money laundering by Turkish criminals living in the United Kingdom.

Vernon Coaker: The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 contained new measures to strengthen and tighten the UK's anti-money laundering laws. The investigation of money laundering offences is a matter for the police and the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA). SOCA ensures that all their investigations include strategies to identify criminal assets. SOCA is taking advantage of new powers in the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005; the first use of the new Financial Reporting Order under the Act was against a Turkish organised criminal.
	The Metropolitan police has established a dedicated unit in Haringey to conduct financial investigations in respect of suspected drug traffickers, and others benefiting from crime and money laundering. The unit has actively investigated Turkish criminals involved in money laundering and successfully disrupted criminal networks within the Turkish speaking community.

Offender Management

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to encourage competition from the business and voluntary sectors in offender management.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The National Offender Management Service published "Improving Prison and Probation Services: Public Value Partnerships" on 17 August 2006, which set out the NOMS vision for contestability and partnership working, and the initial programme of competitions.
	The publication of the prospectus is an opportunity to consult and engage with existing and potential providers. NOMS will publish updates on their plans for contestability on a regular basis. The first update will be later this year, with the publication of national and regional commissioning plans.

Organised Crime Consultation

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which individuals and organisations have been consulted in relation to the consultation "New Powers Against Organised and Financial Crime"; and what progress has been made with the consultation.

Vernon Coaker: The organisations consulted during the development of the recent green paper "New Powers Against Organised and Financial Crime" are outlined in Annex B of that publication. Comments on the paper are invited by 17 October 2006 and I would encourage any interested individual or organisation to submit their views before this date.
	The Home Office plan to publish a summary of the consultation responses in November 2006.

Passport Agency

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many UK passports were returned to the Passport Service after being delivered to the wrong address in  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2006.

Joan Ryan: Figures for passports returned to the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) after being delivered to the wrong address for 2005 and 2006 are as follows:
	2005: 4,120 (0.06 per cent. of total passports produced).
	2006: 5,006 (0.09 per cent. of total passports produced to end September).
	These figures represent passports returned to IPS which have been marked as "addressee not known". Some of these will have been returned as a consequence of customers providing incorrect or illegible addresses, moving, or submitting fraudulent applications. Others represent passports misposted by couriers due to human error or errors in addresses as a result of mistakes during the passport examining process.

Pharmaceuticals

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his letter to my hon. Friend the Member for South-East Cambridgeshire (Mr. Paice) of 10 July 2006 on Home Office interpretation of the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, what assessment he has made of the extent to which his Department's policy on the importation of narcotic drugs for medicinal use is consistent with  (a) the judgment of the European Court of Justice (61993J0324) in The Queen  v. Secretary of State for Home Department, ex parte Evans Medical Ltd and Macfarlan Smith Ltd of 28 March 1995 and  (b) recommendations given by the Office of Fair Trading in March 2006 in document OFT834; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 9 October 2006
	I am satisfied that the importation policy for such drugs is lawful in all respects. The Government's response to the OFT Report on Opium Derivatives confirms that position.

Pharmaceuticals

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department further to his speech on protectionism at the German-British Chamber of Commerce annual dinner on 4 July, what assessment he has made of progress on modernising the UK Government's interpretation of United Nations Single Convention 1961 in relation to the 1993 ruling by the European Court of Justice (Ref 61993J0324); and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 9 October 2006
	I am satisfied that the interpretation of the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961 in respect of importation policy is both lawful and consistent with the ruling of the European Court of Justice (effected actually in 1995).

Prisons

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what  (a) educational,  (b) recreational and  (c) other information produced for sentenced or remand prisoners is available in (i) a Welsh language version and (ii) foreign languages.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Educational materials are made available in other languages, including Welsh, when indicated in the prisoner's individual learning plan. Prison libraries are required to cater for the informational, cultural, occupational and recreational needs of all prisoners, and will source material in foreign languages as required. Prisoner information books are available in 22 other languages including Welsh.
	Prison Service Order 6710 on prison libraries requires the library to cater for the informational, cultural, occupational and recreational needs of all prisoners.

Prisons

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the highest amount earned by a prisoner working inside a prison was in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Prison Service Order 4460 devolves responsibility to Governors and Directors of contracted prisons to set rates of pay for their establishment. Individual prisoner payments are not centrally recorded. I have recently placed a copy of the PSO in the Library.

Prisons

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what total amount of wages was paid to prisoners working inside prisons in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The following table shows the total amount of wages paid to prisoners in public sector prisons over the past five years. This information is not available for private sector prisons. It is a matter for individual contractors how they record their expenditure.
	
		
			   Total amount paid (£) 
			 2005-06 29,614,080 
			 2004-05 28,097,260 
			 2003-04 26,469,070 
			 2002-03 24,520,007 
		
	
	The total amount for each year represents an average weekly wage per prisoner of approximately £8.00.

Prisons

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether prisoners who are working and earning wages are required to pay council tax.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Prisoners who are working and earning wages do not have to pay council tax which is based on the value of a home and the number of people living in it. A prison is not considered to be a home for this purpose.

Prisons

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether prisoners who work in the community and earn wages make any contribution towards their upkeep in prison.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Current legislation prevents prisoners being required to finance the cost of their prison sentence. The Prison Act 1952, section 51, requires that all expenses incurred in maintaining both prisons and prisoners must be met from public funds.

Prisons

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many objections were received by his Department to the Christian Inner Change programme offered to prisoners at Dartmoor prison; and how many of these objections were from prisoners  (a) of other faiths and  (b) defining themselves as homosexual;
	(2)  what assessment has been made by his Department of the effectiveness of the Inner Change prison programme.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The programme was introduced as a pilot only. Following a review under Prison Service Order 4350 (Effective Regimes Interventions) the programme is currently being withdrawn. The Review Panel identified a range of concerns, the most significant being the poor quality of the manuals which did not demonstrate a structured and coherent programme, a lack of consistency and clarity about the primary aims of the programme, a lack of understanding and appropriate sensitivity to the diversity agenda of Her Majesty's prison service, and an absence of protocols for the management of the mentor system, making it unsafe.

Prisons (Compensation Claims)

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many compensation claims were made by prisoners against prison authorities in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: From the figures available centrally, prisoners in public sector prisons in 2004-05, submitted 975 compensation claims. A further 975 claims were received in 2005-06. Data prior to this are unreliable as systems were not in place to co-ordinate litigation centrally. Litigation in private sector prisons is a matter for the individual contractor

Prisons (Compensation Claims)

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners received compensation payments from prison authorities as a result of negligence in each of the last five years; and what the largest single payment was.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Compensation payments to prisoners are not recorded using negligence as a specific criteria. To provide this data would involve disproportionate costs.

Remand Prisoners

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many prisoners are currently being held on remand;
	(2)  for what offences prisoners have been held on remand in the last 12 months, broken down by number of prisoners held.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The number of prisoners held on remand in England and Wales on 31 August 2006 was 13,301. Information on the numbers of prisoners in England and Wales over the last 12 months, including offence types, can be found at: http://www. homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/omcsa.html.
	The figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and although shown to the last individual the figure may not be accurate to that level.

Scooters

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been prosecuted for driving mini moto scooters illegally in each of the last five years; what the  (a) maximum,  (b) minimum and  (c) average penalty imposed was for this offence in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The only offences identified by the statistical collections on the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform, that are specific to motor cycles are "failing to wear a crash helmet" and "unlawful pillion riding". All other offences committed by motorcyclists cannot be identified from the data held centrally either because the offence as defined in legislation is not specific to any type of motor vehicle (e.g. driving on a footpath or vehicle not taxed or insured against third party risks) or because it is not identified separately, and grouped together with other miscellaneous motoring offences.

Scooters

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints each police authority has received in each of the last five years about the use of mini moto scooters.

Vernon Coaker: It is not possible to show the number of mini-moto complaints in each police authority over the last five years because the data are not collected centrally.

Security Industry Authority

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints the Security Industry Authority received in the last 12 months relating to the loss of or damage to the documents applicants submitted in order to be considered for a security licence.

Vernon Coaker: In the 12 months up to October 2006 the Security Industry Authority (SIA) received directly 90 written complaints about the loss of documents submitted in support of SIA licence applications. Over the same period the SIA processed over 120,000 applications.
	The SIA does not collect information about complaints received about documents submitted in order to be considered for a security licence which were damaged on receipt by the SIA or by the applicants.

Sentence Appeals

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners since 1997 have been given leave to appeal; and how many prisoners have had their sentences reduced as a result.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information regarding the numbers of appeals by prisoners and their individual outcomes is not available in the form requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Sentencing

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of prisoners remanded in custody who were subsequently sentenced went on to receive non-custodial sentences in the past 12 months.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information on the number of prisoners held on remand who were subsequently sentenced to non-custodial sentences is to be found at table 7.11 at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/hosb1705section7.xls.
	The figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and so is not necessarily accurate to the last whole number.

Under-age Drinking

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions of retailers there have been in each of the past 10 years for selling alcohol to underage customers.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information from the Court Proceedings Database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform showing the number of retailers prosecuted for selling alcohol to minors is shown in the following table. Figures for 2005 will be available in November 2006.
	The offence of sale of alcohol to a person under 18 can attract a penalty notice for disorder (PND). The offence was added to the PND scheme on 1 November 2004, and there were 113 Penalty Notices issued for the offence in November and December of that year. Provisional data for 2005 show that a further 2,009 penalty notices were issued for the offence in 2005.
	
		
			  Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for selling alcohol to underage customers, England and Wales 1995-2004( 1,2) 
			  Offence description  Principal statute  Year  Proceeded against 
			 Selling etc intoxicating liquor to person under 18 for consumption on the premises Licensing Act 1964 S.169 A & B as added by Licensing (Young Persons) Act 2000 S.1 1995 198 
			   1996 251 
			   1997 214 
			   1998 310 
			   1999 204 
			   2000 130 
			   2001 155 
			   2002 168 
			   2003 604 
			   2004 836 
			 Wholesaler selling intoxicating liquor to a person under 18 Licensing Act 1964 S.181 A(1) as added by Licensing Act 1 988 S.1 7 1995 — 
			   1996 — 
			   1997 1 
			   1998 1 
			   1999 1 
			   2000 2 
			   2001 3 
			   2002 2 
			   2003 12 
			   2004 5 
			 (1) These data are provided on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police forces and courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.   Source:  RDS—Office for Criminal Justice Reform

Young Offenders

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made in applying the Reading Training for Work programme for young offenders in England and Wales; how many prisons offer the scheme; and what success rate has been achieved for participants finding work upon release after this scheme.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The National Grid programme is currently operating in a number of establishments across the prison estate.
	Prisons do not keep separate records of the number of prisoners obtaining work upon release as a result of the National Grid programme.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Accommodation

Andrew Dismore: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission pursuant to his answer of 17 July 2006,  Official Report, column 8W, on accommodation, what account was taken of the previous use of the buildings as set out in the House's 1991 document "The Parliament Street Building" in deciding that they are structurally unsuitable for use as offices.

Nick Harvey: As the document shows, the houses were originally private residences and then used as offices in the nineteenth century. It refers to their dilapidation, frailty and severe structural problems prior to the reconstruction completed in 1991. They are statutorily listed at grade II* and grade II. Use as offices would require planning permission for change of use and listed building consent for alterations which, I understand, is unlikely to be granted.

Parliamentary Estate (Perimeter)

Greg Knight: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission if the Commission will instruct the director of estates of the Parliamentary Works Directorate that under no circumstances should he agree to a change in the size or perimeter of the parliamentary estate in his negotiations with the client team of the World Squares for All Group unless and until this matter has been discussed and approved by Members of both Houses.

Nick Harvey: There are no plans to modify the perimeter of the parliamentary estate. Discussions between the World Squares for All Group on the future of Parliament Square are still at an early stage. Representations of the parliamentary estate and English Heritage on the steering group have not supported any proposal for change. The director of estates has made it very clear that such a change would be impractical and unrealistic. Any proposals to change the size or perimeter of the parliamentary estate would be subject to the agreement of the parliamentary authorities.

Post

Mike Hancock: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many complaints the Commission received about delays to the delivery of hon. Members' and hon. Members' staff's post in the last 12 months.

Nick Harvey: No log has been made of complaints about delays to the delivery of post in the last 12 months. There were a small number of complaints when the new mail service contract began last autumn. Since then there have been few complaints, some of which have been related to mail delayed before it reached Parliament.

Timber Sourcing

Elliot Morley: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what steps he is taking to investigate claims plywood sourced from illegal logging was used in the refurbishment of Westminster Hall.

Nick Harvey: Parliamentary Works Services (PWSD) have investigated these claims. The initial investigation centred on the specification used during the tendering process for the Press Gallery refurbishment project and in particular the plywood used on protection and temporary works.
	Is a clear and established policy on the parliamentary estate that all wood used during refurbishment or construction work must come from a sustainable source. This rule applies equally to permanent use such as panelling and furniture, and temporary usage such as protective sheeting and temporary buildings. It was confirmed that the standard specification regarding sustainability was used in this contract. The key wording from this specification is
	"it is the employer's policy to purchase only timber and timber products from sustainable managed sources".
	Further investigation also confirmed that the more detailed architects specification was also very specific in specifying that
	"timber based products are sourced from sustainable managed forests controlled by a National Forest Certification Scheme assessed and recognised by the Pan European Forest Certification Council".
	It was also confirmed that the timber supplier is FSC accredited.
	Following further investigation it was established that the contractors original order for timber for the project included the words
	"in accordance with the specification".
	However, further call off requests based on the original order contained no such wording. It is from these orders that the supplier delivered un-certified plywood to the Press Gallery project. The delivery of the un-certified plywood was the result of human error rather than a lack of a suitable specification.
	Measures have been put in place to ensure that this situation does not reoccur.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps  (a) are in place and  (b) are planned to ensure that the Government of Afghanistan, his Department, the United States Agency for International Development and non-governmental organisations operating alternative livelihood programmes in Afghanistan are properly co-ordinated.

Hilary Benn: The Ministry of Counter Narcotics (MCN) of the Government of Afghanistan leads on co-ordination, monitoring and review of alternative livelihoods policies and programmes in Afghanistan. DFID, along with other donors (including the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)), send quarterly information on our programmes to the MCN alternative livelihoods Department and attend a monthly alternative livelihoods working group. This is a valuable forum which brings together the relevant ministries, donors and non government organisations to share lessons.
	Also, following the release of the National Drug Control Strategy in January, non government organisations and donors including DFID and USAID, have worked with the MCN to develop the Alternative Livelihoods Implementation Plan. Thematic and geographic analysis is now planned to ensure that there is no duplication of donor and non-governmental organisation activities and to identify the gaps.
	DFID's office in Kabul meets regularly with donor counterparts, including USAID, to co-ordinate programmes.

Afghanistan

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of how long it will take for alternative livelihoods programmes to affect opium yields in Afghanistan.

Hilary Benn: The Government of Afghanistan's National Drugs Control Strategy makes clear that in dealing with the drugs issue in Afghanistan, effective sequencing between the various strands of activity is paramount. Alternative livelihoods work alone will not affect opium yields. On the other strands, for example, law enforcement is also needed. As we know from experience elsewhere, sustainable drug elimination takes a considerable time. This is particularly the case in Afghanistan where the challenges are very significant.
	The approach set out in the Government of Afghanistan's Strategy represents the best means of tackling the problem. The strategy has four key priorities—targeting the trafficker, strengthening livelihoods, reducing demand and developing effective institutions. To affect opium yields progress needs to be made on all. There is no simple answer to how long the Afghan counter-narcotics battle will take, although President Karzai said at the London Conference in January 2006 that it would need at least 10 years of consistent effort.

Afghanistan

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his assessment is of the effect of opium eradication projects on alternative livelihoods programmes in Afghanistan.

Hilary Benn: The Government of Afghanistan's National Drug Control Strategy makes clear that in dealing with the drugs issue in Afghanistan, effective sequencing between the various strands of activity within the strategy is paramount. It recognises that eradication is an important component of the counter narcotics effort, as it raises risk in the eyes of those involved. However, the strategy says that eradication should only be applied where there is access to legal economic alternatives. Without this sequencing, eradication runs the risk of further impoverishing those involved, and to leave them with little choice but to replant poppy again the next planting season.
	So in an effectively counter narcotics plan, the uptake of alternative livelihoods is more likely, as the risk of eradication is seen to be greater. To what extent this has been a factor to date in Afghanistan is very hard to tell, given our limited understanding of the choices which farmers make. But we do know from Afghanistan and elsewhere, that eradication does increase perceived risk, and thus is a significant factor in a farmer's decision whether to plant poppy or not.

Afghanistan

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of British aid in the promotion and planting of alternative crops in Afghanistan.

Hilary Benn: DFID is currently working on a structured community and household assessment to determine the impact of the development effort (both policy influence and direct programmes) and its potential contribution to reductions in poppy cultivation. DFID has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Central Statistics Office (CSO) to carry out an annual household survey over the next three years.
	However, alternatives to opium cannot be delivered through a single project or crop. A broad based rural development programme must respond to the needs of rural people involved in opium poppy cultivation. The National Drugs Control Strategy also makes clear, in dealing with the drugs issue in Afghanistan, that effective sequencing of the various strands of activity (for example livelihoods and eradication) is paramount.

Chechnya

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment his Department has made of  (a) the World Food Programme's deployment in Chechnya and  (b) the recent announcement that the World Food Programme may be forced to pull out of Chechnya due to insufficient funding; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: To a large extent DFID relies on the UN organisations, including the World Food Programme (WFP), working in Chechnya to provide information on the humanitarian situation in Chechnya. This information indicates a continuing need to provide food to the most vulnerable people in Chechnya, and we will continue to push WFP and other UN Agencies and NGOs involved for better targeting of that food for particularly vulnerable groups. We will also continue efforts to shift towards more sustainable assistance that will focus on recovery and reduce dependency on food distributions.
	Following a WFP announcement in July 2006 about their funding situation, the European Commission's Humanitarian Office provided an additional €3 million to WFP for 2006-07. This, together with a US cash contribution, will allow WFP to continue operations in Chechnya in 2006 through to the end of May 2007. DFID provided £200,000 through the WFP to support continued food distribution during 2006.

Civil Society Challenge Fund

Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his Department's expenditure to sexual and reproductive health non-governmental organisations through the Civil Society Challenge Fund was in 2005-06.

Gareth Thomas: We are currently finalising this year's "Statistics for International Development". It will be published on 26 October 2006 and expenditure figures for DFID bilateral assistance provided in advance are provisional.
	We can therefore provisionally advise that DFID expenditure for sexual and reproductive health (including HIV and AIDS) to non-governmental organisations through the Civil Society Challenge Fund was £1.8 million in financial year 2005-06.

Departmental Expenditure

Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his Department's total expenditure to  (a) UNFPA,  (b) WHO,  (c) UNICEF,  (d) UNAIDS,  (e) the International Planned Parenthood Federation,  (f) Marie Stopes International and  (g) Interact Worldwide was in 2005-06.

Gareth Thomas: Expenditure figures for UNFPA, WHO, UNICEF, UNAIDS, during 2005-06 are not available yet. They are being finalised and will be published in this year's "Statistics for International Development" report on 26 October. I will write to my hon. Friend then.
	Final expenditure figures to non-governmental organisations will also be included in "Statistics for International Development". Provisional figures are as follows:
	Marie Stopes International—£716,696
	Interact Worldwide—£580,972
	No funds were provided to International Planned Parenthood Federation during the financial year 2005-06 though the 2005 core unrestricted contribution of £6 million was paid in March 2005 against the financial year 2004-05.

Departmental Staff

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many disabled people were hired by his Department in each of the last five years for which figures are available; what percentage of the overall workforce these figures represented in each year; and how many disabled people left their employment in his Department over the same period.

Gareth Thomas: DFID records of disabled staff are solely based on voluntary declaration of disability under the Disability Discrimination Act and not connected in any way to a formal register of disability. The requested disability statistics for DFID are shown in the following table (these figures represent home civil servants only, not staff appointed in country).
	DFID do not have a systematic record for the period 2001-02:
	
		
			   Number of disabled people recruited in DFID  Recruited disabled people as percentage of total workforce  Number of disabled people left DFID 
			 2005 6 0.3 0 
			 2004 16 0.8 1 
			 2003 0 0 2

HIV/AIDS

Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what publications his Department produced on sexual and reproductive health and rights and HIV/AIDS in 2005-06.

Gareth Thomas: DFID produced the following publications on sexual and reproductive health and rights and HIV/AIDS in 2005-06:
	Increasing people's access to essential medicines in developing countries: a framework for good practice in the pharmaceutical industry (published in March 2005)
	Harm reduction—Tackling drug use and HIV in the developing world (published on World AIDS Day, 1 December 2005)
	EU Statement on HIV Prevention for an AIDS free generation (released on World AIDS Day, 1 December 2005; DFID published this document to make available at the International AIDS Conference in Toronto, 13-18 August 2006).

Human Reproduction Programme

Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his Department's contribution to the Human Reproduction Programme in the World Health Organisation was in 2005-06.

Gareth Thomas: The expenditure figures for DFID's funding to the Human Reproduction Programme (HRP) in the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2005-06 will be available once "Statistics on International Development" are published on 26 October 2006. I will write to my hon. Friend then.
	DFID also provided core funding to WHO in 2005-06 and HRP received a proportion of this institutional funding.

Internally Displaced Persons

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate his Department has made of the number of internally-displaced people in  (a) Democratic Republic of Congo,  (b) Uganda and  (c) Colombia; what programmes his Department has (i) initiated and (ii) supported since 2001 to ameliorate the situation of these people; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: The information is as follows:
	 (a) The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which gathers data from a wide range of agencies working as part of the humanitarian response as well as through their own field offices, estimate the number of internally displaced people (IDPs) in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to be 1.44 million. It is extremely difficult to provide accurate figures as the country is so large, many IDPs are not living in camps and the situation is very unstable. People are returning home in increasing numbers but significant new displacements are occurring every month.
	Since 2001, DFID has provided the following humanitarian assistance to DRC through the bilateral programme: £5 million (2001-02); £12 million (2002-03); £13 million (2003-04); £22 million (2004-05); £29.5 million (2005-06). In 2006-07 we have already disbursed £17.6 million, making a total of £99.1 million so far over the period in question and expect to spend at least another £20 million this financial year. A large part of this funding has been provided to assist IDPs in areas such as health, water and sanitation, emergency shelter, food aid and nutrition, working through United Nations Agencies, international NGOs and the International Committee of the Red Cross. From this year, the bulk of our humanitarian resources are being channelled through the joint donor DRC Humanitarian Pooled Fund.
	In 2004, DFID supported the establishment of the Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM), managed jointly by OCHA and UNICEF. This is designed to undertake needs assessments and provide assistance to newly displaced people before other resources become available. In the first six months of 2006, 500,000 people were helped through the RRM. This is a particularly effective mechanism in the unstable DRC context.
	 (b) The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that the number of people internally displaced in Uganda is 1.7 million.
	DFID has provided humanitarian assistance to displaced people in Uganda for programmes in health, water and sanitation, protection, food aid, and to purchase and supply non-food relief items. Our assistance has been channelled through a number of United Nations agencies, the Red Cross, Save the Children Fund and Oxfam. Since 2001 our support has totalled £49.9 million broken down by financial year as follows: £127,000 (2001-02); £2.5 million (2002-03); £6.8 million (2003-04); £10.9 million (2004-05); £19.9 million (2005-06). In 2006-07 we have disbursed £9 million so far and expect to spend at least a further £7.5 million before the end of March 2007 through the agencies mentioned above.
	 (c) According to Colombian government figures, the total number of IDPs in Colombia is 2.5-3.0 million. Non government organisations put the figure at around 3.3 million.
	DFID provides assistance to displaced people in Colombia through its 18 per cent. contribution to the European Commission's development assistance programme. The EC's Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) committed €10 million in 2001, €9.2 million in 2002, €8.6 million in 2003, €8 million in 2004 and €12 million in 2005 to support internally displaced people and people affected by internal conflict in Colombia. A further €12 million has been allocated for 2006.

Secondments

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what departmental procedures are in place to encourage staff to apply for secondments to  (a) the United Nations and  (b) World Bank; and how many (i) applicants and (ii) successful applicants have been women in the last three years.

Gareth Thomas: DFID has seconded staff to the United Nations (UN) and the World Bank, both to their headquarters and their overseas offices, as part of our long standing collaboration with both organisations. Most secondment opportunities for DFID staff are advertised internally.
	In the case of secondments, DFID does not hold diversity information for those advertised internally, so cannot confirm how many men and women have applied in recent years.
	However, since 2003, two out of seven secondees to the UN, and eight out of 14 secondees to the World Bank have been women. In other words, nearly 50 per cent. of successful applicants in the last three years have been women.

Sexual and Reproductive Health

Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his Department's aid to sexual and reproductive health and rights research was in 2005-06.

Gareth Thomas: DFID funds two bilateral research programmes with an explicit focus on sexual and reproductive health, including rights: "Improving Sexual and Reproductive Health for Poor and Vulnerable Populations" and "Capacity Building in Sexual and Reproductive Health and HIV in Developing Countries". In 2005-06 the provisional expenditure for these two programmes amounted to over £500,000, of a five-year total commitment of £5 million (from 2005 to 2010). These figures are provisional subject to publication of "Statistics on International Development" on 26 October 2006.
	DFID also supports a range of other bilateral research programmes that cover aspects of sexual and reproductive health and rights, as part of research focused on HIV and AIDS, sexually transmitted infections or health systems. It is difficult to disaggregate funding to these programmes for sexual and reproductive health and rights specifically; however overall provisional contributions to these programmes in 2005-06 were:
	Knowledge Programme on HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections (biomedical research): £0.54 million
	Knowledge for Action—the HIV/AIDS and STI Knowledge Programme (political and economic research): £0.38 million
	Consortium on Research for Equitable Health Systems: £0.28 million
	Future Health Systems: Making Health Systems Work for the Poor: £0.41 million
	Strategic research to achieve MDGs for mothers and infants: £0.29 million
	Effective Health Care Alliance Programme: £0.59 million
	In addition, DFID supports four multilateral research programmes that broadly cover aspects of sexual and reproductive health and rights in their research portfolios. These are listed and the contributions that DFID provided to these programmes in 2005-06 will be available once "Statistics on International Development" is published in October:
	UNDP/World Bank/UNFPA/WHO Human Reproduction Programme
	Microbicide Development Programme
	International Partnership for Microbicides
	Initiative on Maternal Mortality Programme Assessment

Sexual and Reproductive Health

Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his Department's aid to overseas sexual and reproductive health and rights non-governmental organisations was in 2005-06.

Gareth Thomas: Many overseas non-governmental organisations (e.g. BRAG in Bangladesh and Banja la Mtsogolo in Malawi) working in sexual and reproductive health and rights are funded through DFID country programmes. However, this information is not held centrally in the form requested and to provide it would be at disproportionate costs to my department.

Sri Lanka

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much UK aid has been disbursed to Sri Lanka since the tsunami in 2004; how it has been spent; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: Direct UK government funding to Sri Lanka post tsunami totals £55 million. In addition a proportion of the £76 million funding for general tsunami relief and recovery can be attributed to regional funding, a proportion of which will benefit Sri Lanka.
	 Direct to Sri Lanka
	DFID spent £7 million on immediate relief for Sri Lanka in the aftermath of the tsunami. This included: £5.9 million funding for UN agencies and NGOs, £604,000 funding for seven humanitarian flights for the Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC), £250,000 for the provision of shelters, £119,000 secondment of five staff from DFID to UN agencies.
	The UK Government also agreed to meet 10 per cent. of Sri Lanka's debt repayments to the World Bank over the next 10 years to assist tsunami reconstruction. This is estimated to be worth £45 million.
	DFID has also committed £2.8 million to help build capacity within Sri Lanka to manage the recovery effort effectively.
	 Regional Funding
	The Treasury estimate that tax relief on gift aid for the regional tsunami public, including the DEC appeal, will have been worth approximately £50 million.
	DFID made regional donations to a number of UN and NGO appeals worth £26 million.

St. Helena

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many shortlisted companies have shown considerable interest in the invitation to tender for the St. Helena Airport.

Gareth Thomas: Three South Africa/UK-based consortia were shortlisted for the design, construction and operation of the St. Helena Airport, and all three were well represented in a bidders' information meeting held in late July 2006. One consortium subsequently withdrew from the bidding process and the remaining two have indicated that they would have difficulty in meeting the requirements of the tender as these stood in the invitation to tender. All three consortia, however, have indicated continued interest in the project under adjusted terms.

St. Helena

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what stage the St. Helena Airport construction project has reached.

Gareth Thomas: An invitation to tender was issued in July to three shortlisted consortia for the design, construction and operation of the airport on St. Helena. A site visit planned for August was postponed following the withdrawal of one of the consortia. We are currently reviewing the terms of the invitation of tender in the light of the responses made by the consortia in regard to their ability to meet its requirements. We expect to reach a decision shortly on revised terms and any necessary changes to the bidding process.
	Any revision will preserve our commitment to ensuring that the contract achieves value for money, while addressing matters of concern that have been raised.

Sudan

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on recent discussions UK missions have had in relation to future funding of AMIS with France, Italy and Japan.

Hilary Benn: The UK has called on those states who made commitments to AMIS at the 18 July Donors' Conference to honour those commitments, and for others who have not yet contributed to AMIS to look again at what financial and in kind assistance they can give. We have done this bilaterally, and in formal EU meetings. We have discussed support to AMIS with the Japanese, primarily through our embassy in Addis Ababa, where the headquarters of the African Union are based. We also have ongoing informal discussions with the Japanese and with other international partners to the AU, including France and Italy, through the Partners' Technical Support Group. The UK has already contributed £20 million this financial year. We are also calling on the Arab League to honour the pledge it made in March and again in September to fund AMIS.

MINISTER FOR WOMEN

Human Trafficking

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what funding has been allocated to the POPPY Project to identify refuges for women rescued from human trafficking.

Meg Munn: The Government have been funding Eaves Housing for Women/the POPPY scheme since March 2003 to provide safe shelter and support for adult female victims who have been trafficked into prostitution in the UK. To date, over 100 women have been supported whilst they recover from their ordeal and prepare to return safely to their communities.
	This year the Home Office has entered into a two-year, £2.4 million funding agreement with Eaves Housing for Women to:
	continue the existing crisis provision service at the POPPY project for up to 25 women;
	provide 10 additional regional "step-down" places to help women live semi-independently with less intensive support;
	introduce the first ever specialist national outreach service in the UK for victims trafficked into sexual exploitation; and
	develop a resource/information pack for victims, service providers and law enforcement agency staff.
	In addition, the UK Human Trafficking Centre (UKHTC), which was launched on 3 October, intends to continue to provide the victim-centred approach delivered by Operation Pentameter, where forces were asked to scope and procure local support services for victims and develop local partnerships with appropriate service providers.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Child Benefit

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make representations for a contact/oversight facility in Northern Ireland for hon. Members dealing with child benefit queries from their constituents.

Dawn Primarolo: I have been asked to reply.
	I can assure the hon. Gentleman as well as other hon. Members representing Northern Ireland constituencies that any concerns they raise about their constituents' child benefit payments will continue to be treated with the same high priority as those of other Members of this House.

SCOTLAND

Scottish Parliament (Powers)

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what additional powers he has been asked by the Scottish Executive to transfer to the Scottish Parliament in the last 12 months.

Douglas Alexander: The Scottish Executive has not requested the transfer of additional powers to the Scottish Parliament in the last 12 months, although some limited powers have been transferred to Scottish Ministers by secondary legislation.

Energy Prices

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent assessment he has made of the impact of rising energy prices on consumers in Scotland.

David Cairns: The UK's liberalised, market-based approach to energy policy delivered real domestic gas prices 6 per cent. lower in 2005 than in 1990 and real domestic electricity prices 18 per cent. lower in 2005 than in 1990. Furthermore, between 1996 and 2003, the number of UK households in fuel poverty fell from 5 million to around 1.5 million but rising fuel prices mean that fuel poverty remains a challenge. This is why the recently concluded review of UK Energy Policy recognised that delivering secure, clean energy at affordable prices is one of the major challenges we face and set out a number of actions to meet this challenge.

Scotland Act

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what mechanisms are in place to ensure that the Scottish Parliament operates within the scope of the Scotland Act 1998.

Douglas Alexander: All primary and secondary legislation of the Scottish Parliament is monitored by the Law Officers and by the Secretary of State, in line with their respective functions under sections 33, 35, 58 and 107 of and Schedule 6 to the Scotland Act 1998.
	Sections 31(1) and (2) of the Scotland Act also require a member of the Scottish Executive and the Presiding Officer to make a statement, on or before the introduction of a Bill in the Scottish Parliament, that in their view the provisions of the Bill are within legislative competence.
	Finally, section 54 defines what is meant by a function being exercised within or outside devolved competence for the purposes of the Act. This section forms part of the set dealing with the establishment of the Scottish Administration and its functions. Section 53 makes provision for the transfer to the Scottish Ministers of ministerial functions
	"so far as they are exercisable within devolved competence".

Sewell Convention Report

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what progress has been made with the Government's response to the report of the Scottish Affairs Committee "The Sewel Convention: the Westminster Perspective".

Douglas Alexander: The Government submitted their response to the Scottish Affairs Committee report "The Sewel Convention: the Westminster Perspective" on 20 July 2006.

Block Grant (Education)

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the Treasury on increases to the block grant to Scotland related to additional annual allocations for education.

David Cairns: Increases in comparable spending in England lead to increases in the block grant to Scotland via the Barnett Formula. Current arrangements allow the Scottish Executive to determine its spending in accordance with Scottish needs and priorities.

Renewable Energy

Si�n Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what funding has been allocated to Scotland for the development of renewable energy technology in the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

David Cairns: Total Government spend on research, development and demonstration into renewable and low carbon energy technologies across the UK will be over 500 million between 2002 and 2008. This amount includes academic research supported by the Research Councils, supported industry-led R and D, the Carbon Trust's R and D programme and others but it is not possible to identify exactly how much of this was spent in Scotland. The Scottish Executive and its agencies have committed further direct funding of almost 100 million to energy efficiency and renewable projects in the last three years. This assistance does not take into account the impact of market pull instruments such as the Emissions Trading Scheme and the Renewables Obligation that provide further incentives to bring renewable generation into production.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Bailiffs

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many complaints were received by his Department in relation to the methods used and conduct of bailiffs and other debt collectors in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: The Department for Constitutional Affairs has responsibility for bailiffs and complaints would be directed to them.
	Debt collectors have to be licensed by the Office of Fair Trading to collect debts under consumer credit agreements and the OFT issued trading practices guidance for them in 2003. The OFT has received the following number of complaints about debt collectors for the last three financial years:
	
		
			   Number of complaints 
			 2003-04 (1)346 
			 2004-05 1,079 
			 2005-06 1,760 
			 (1 )Approximate. 
		
	
	As a result of complaints, and other sources of information, the OFT has issued the following number of letters to debt collectors in the last three financial years reminding them of their responsibilities and warning them about their future conduct where there appears to be a breach of OFT Guidance:
	
		
			   Number of letters issued 
			 2003-04 33 
			 2004-05 50 
			 2005-06 42

Bank Charges

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to limit penalty charges imposed by banks when a customer exceeds overdraft limits or a direct debit or cheque are returned.

Ian McCartney: The OFT has been looking at the question of penalty charges in respect of credit cards and has stated that it believed that such charges had been generally set at a significantly higher level than was considered fair and set a 12 threshold for OFT intervention unless there were exceptional business factors.
	The OFT is of the view that the broad principles do read across to the retail banking area and has decided to undertake further work on the application of these principles to bank current accounts. This fact-finding exercise is expected to take between three to six months, at which stage the OFT will consider whether a further detailed investigation of the fairness of individual bank default charges is needed.

Bank Charges

James McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the Government plan to take action against banks that make excess charges for customers becoming overdrawn.

Ian McCartney: holding answer 9 October 2006
	The OFT has been looking at the question of penalty charges in respect of credit cards and has stated that it believed that such charges had been generally set at a significantly higher level than was considered fair and set a 12 threshold for OFT intervention unless there were exceptional business factors.
	The OFT is of the view that the broad principles do read across to the retail banking area and has decided to undertake further work on the application of these principles to bank current accounts. This fact-finding exercise is expected to take between three to six months, at which stage the OFT will consider whether a further detailed investigation of the fairness of individual bank default charges is needed.

Business Start-up Assistance

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many new business start-ups there were per 10,000 head of population in each year since 1997.

Margaret Hodge: Value added tax (VAT) registrations and de-registrations are the best official guide to the pattern of business start-ups and closures. DTI data on the number of VAT registrations in the UK in each year from 1997 to 2004 are shown in the table. These are shown per 10,000 head of resident adult population (those aged 16 and above). The number of de-registrations and end of year stock of VAT registered businesses per 10,000 head of resident adult population are also given. Data for 2005 will be available in autumn 2006.
	VAT registrations per 10,000 head of resident adult population remained roughly constant between 1997 and 2004, with a degree of fluctuation from year to year. However, the stock of VAT registered businesses per 10,000 population rose by approximately 5 per cent. over this period.
	The actual stock of VAT registered businesses from the end of 1997 to the end of 2004 is shown in the following table. In total, the number of VAT registered businesses has risen by over 150,000 since 1997.
	
		
			  UK stock of VAT registered businesses, 1997-2004 
			   Total end-year stock 
			 1997 1,667,310 
			 1998 1,705,050 
			 1999 1,733,160 
			 2000 1,758,455 
			 2001 1,775,835 
			 2002 1,796,335 
			 2003 1,817,820 
			 2004 1,819,870 
			  Source: Business Start-ups and Closures: VAT Registrations and De-registrations 1994-2004, Small Business Service, available from the Library of the House and also at http://www.sbs.gov.uk/vats. 
		
	
	
		
			  UK VAT registrations and end year stock of registered businesses per 10,000 resident adult (16+) population, 1997-2004 
			   Registrations per 10,000 population  End-year stock per 10,000 population 
			 1997 39 360 
			 1998 39 367 
			 1999 38 371 
			 2000 38 375 
			 2001 36 376 
			 2002 37 378 
			 2003 40 380 
			 2004 38 378 
			  Note: Population data obtained from Office for National Statistics, General Register Office for Scotland, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency.  Source: Business Start-ups and Closures: VAT Registrations and De-registrations 1994-2004, Small Business Service, available from the Library of the House and also at http://www.sbs.gov.uk/vats. 
		
	
	VAT registration and de-registration data do not capture all business activity. Businesses are unlikely to be registered if their turnover falls below the compulsory VAT threshold, which has risen in each year since 1997. Similarly, businesses that de-register will not necessarily have closed. Only 1.8 million out of 4.3 million businesses (42 per cent.) were registered for VAT at the start of 2005.

Cape Town Convention

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made toward the UK's ratification of the Cape Town Convention on the financing of aircraft and engines.

Margaret Hodge: The UK played an active role in negotiations on the Cape Town Convention and Aircraft Protocol at the 2001 Diplomatic conference and is committed to its ratification, though there are no immediate plans to do so.
	It should be noted that this convention is one of a number of so-called mixed competence treaties where conclusion at EU level has been blocked by Spain due to disagreement between the UK and Spain over Gibraltar.

Companies House

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry why the web-based search facility of Companies House is not available 24 hours a day; and if his Department will take steps to extend the service hours.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 25 July 2006
	The mainframe that currently supports Companies House register, in common with most systems of the same age, cannot support 24-hour working. A certain number of batch processes have to be run to update the data on the register and the time between midnight and 7 am is required to enable this to be carried out.
	Later this year the mainframe will be replaced with a modern distributed processing system. This will remove the requirement for batch processing which should, in principle, allow the opening hours to be extended during the week. Decisions on extending the opening hours have however not yet been taken. Like any investment decision, the costs (including the costs of providing customer support for a 24-hour service) have to be weighed up against the benefits. Specifically, the level of customer demand would need to be considered. Companies House use a variety of methods to track the views of their customers, including surveys, focus groups and market research. These have suggested so far that there is relatively little demand from their customers to use their services in the early hours of the morning during the week. In contrast, they have received feedback from customers who have asked for their services to be available for at least some of the time on Sunday. At present this is not possible because of the significant amounts of time used on Sundays to install and test improvements to products and services. Companies House are presently considering a range of options which could be introduced when the mainframe is replaced.

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps the Government have taken to enact section 198A of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Work on the implementation of section 198A of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act has been continuing to address the issue of potential burdens that may be placed on local authorities. This is a cross-departmental issue involving local authorities, through the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG), previously the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM), and the Local Authorities Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services (LACORS). The Patent Office has been continually working with these bodies to try to resolve this issue and ensure that resources are directed to the appropriate areas.

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps the Government have taken to enact section 107A of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Work on the implementation of section 107A of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act has been continuing to address the issue of potential burdens that may be placed on local authorities. This is a cross-departmental issue involving local authorities, through the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG), previously the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM), and the Local Authorities Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services (LACORS). The Patent Office has been continually working with these bodies to try to resolve this issue and ensure that resources are directed to the appropriate areas.

EU Services Directive

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress is being made on the EU Services Directive; and what assessment he has made of the likely impact of the proposals for such a directive on  (a) health care services and  (b) those who work in health care; and if he will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: Political agreement on the Services Directive was achieved at the Competitiveness Council on 29 May this year. The European Parliament is due to hold its Second Reading vote on the 15 November. It is therefore possible that the directive could be adopted before the end of the year. The current text strikes a good balance between providing real opportunities for UK service providers to test new European markets, while upholding standards and protecting consumers.
	The directive excludes health care services, whether or not they are provided via health care facilities, and regardless of the ways in which they are organised and financed at national level, or whether they are public or private. Health care services covered by this exclusion will not be affected by the Services Directive.
	The directive also carves out labour lawmeaning that employment laws and practices applying to those who work in health care, or any other service sector, will continue to apply as normal.

Intellectual Property Theft

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to improve the system for compensating companies and individuals for losses arising from intellectual property theft.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Intellectual property rights are private rights, and there is no role for Government to provide compensation. The Government have recognised the growing threat of intellectual property crime and launched a National IP Crime Strategy which brings together business, Government and enforcement agencies. As a result, companies will be much better informed about police and prosecution progress and therefore will be in a better position to decide on appropriate action.

Large Combustion Plant Directive

Paddy Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the effects of the Large Combustion Plant Directive on  (a) the use of biomass in energy generation and  (b) the consequences for the wood panel industry.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 25 July 2006
	The Department does not consider that the Large Combustion Plant Directive is a significant factor affecting the use of biomass for energy generation, or the operation of the wood panel industry. That industry has, however expressed concern about co-firing.

Productivity

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures he is taking to improve the UK's position in comparative tables of productivity compared with other European countries and the USA.

Ian McCartney: The DTI has a joint public service agreement (PSA) target with HM Treasury that commits the Department to raising the rate of UK productivity growth over the economic cycle, improving competitiveness and narrowing the gap with the UK's major industrial competitors.
	In order to improve the UK's comparative position on productivity, the Government have established a policy framework, based on a sound evidence base, which centres the long-term goals around:
	Maintaining macroeconomic stability to allow firms and individuals the certainty they need to invest for the future; and
	Implementing microeconomic reforms to remove the barriers that prevent markets from functioning efficiently.
	The framework identifies five key drivers of productivityenterprise, competition, innovation, investment and skillsand there is a wide spectrum of policies that work through and across these. For example, there are measures to promote enterprise such as reducing financing constraints for small businesses as well as supporting a strong competition framework through, for example, increasing the powers of the Office of Fair Trading to promote consumer interests.
	For more detail of the policies and of the UK's progress, please refer to the joint DTI/HMT paper Productivity in the UK 6: Progress and new evidence, which was published alongside Budget 2006 and the UK Productivity and Competitiveness Indicators 2006 (DTI Economic Paper No. 17, March 2006); copies of which are held in the Library of the House.

Renewable Energy

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the merits of developing a subsea electricity transmission network around Scotland's coast to exploit the potential for marine renewables.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 25 July 2006
	The DTI commissioned PB Power to consider the case for a West Coast offshore interconnector in a report which was published in 2002. That report found that the cost of a meshed HVDC link off the West Coast of Scotland also connecting marine renewables was likely to be high in relation to point-to-point connections and overhead lines onshore. Those conclusions led the DTI to decide that it was not an option that should be considered further through more studies.
	A copy of the report can be found at http://www.dti.gov.uk/files/file15105.pdf
	The DTI also commissioned Econnect to produce a report looking at the most economic cable connections for the round 2 offshore wind farm projects planned around the coast of England and Wales to inform the joint DTI/Ofgem consultation document looking at the high level regulatory options for offshore transmissionRegulation of Offshore Electricity.
	That study concluded that direct connections to shore for single operators or groups of operators were the cheapest option.
	That report can be found at http://www.dti.gov.uk/files/file30052.pdf

Shareholder Rights Directive

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the implications for the investment management industry of the recently published European Corporate Governance Forum recommendation on the proposed Shareholder Rights Directive.

Ian McCartney: The Government take the view that the inclusion of regulations in the Shareholder Rights Directive which deal with the passing of instructions between intermediaries in the voting chain must be consistent with better regulation principles. It must take account of the circumstances of intermediaries at different levels in the chain and make clear to which member state's law each intermediary or relationship is subject. It should also not duplicate obligations which already exist in contracts between intermediaries and their clients, or other intermediaries. Finally it should allow investors a choice between contracts with and without voting rights.
	A DTI public consultation on the Shareholder Rights Directive, which will include a regulatory impact assessment, will be issued later this month. It will consult on this issue as it affects all those involved in shareholder voting.

TRANSPORT

Climate Change

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what procedures he follows to ensure that climate-change impacts are considered before new infrastructure plans are considered.

Gillian Merron: The Department's appraisal framework, and its value for money guidance, ensure that changes in greenhouse gases are taken into account in a consistent way when reaching a view on the value for money of proposals. Details of the New Approach to Appraisal (NATA) guidance and the value for money guidance can be found on the internet at the following addresses:
	www.webTAG.org.uk and
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_control/documents/contentservertemplate/dft_index.hcst?n=12577l=2

Departmental Carbon Emissions

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the total carbon emission from his Department's buildings in each year since 1997.

Gillian Merron: The Department was formed in 2002. Information on carbon emissions for our buildings since that date can be found on the website of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and on the website of the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC).
	Information on emissions from our buildings in 2005-06 will shortly be published by the SDC.

Departmental Child Care Facilities

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what child care  (a) provision and  (b) assistance is available to his Department's staff.

Gillian Merron: The Central Department for Transport (DfT(C)), Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCGA), Vehicle Certification Agency (VGA), Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA), Driving Standards Agency (DSA) and Highways Agency (HA) operate a salary sacrifice scheme which enables staff to purchase child care vouchers to pay a child care provider.
	The Government Car Despatch Agency (GCDA) does not currently have child care provision in place.
	DfT(C) and HA provide a 50 per cent. subsidy for staff whose children attend a local government registered holiday play scheme. The Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) have an on-site nursery, and play scheme, and the MCGA provide a 10 per cent. discount for child care services at Teddies nurseries.
	DfT(C) and MCGA reimburse staff for additional child care expenses incurred when working demands require a change in the normal working routine.
	The Department offers assistance by allowing employees with children under five to take career breaks and offering staff part-time working. A flexible working time scheme is available to staff. These options are to help employees to make informed child care decisions on what should be suitable conditions and schemes for their child care.

Departmental Child Care Facilities

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  which of his Department's premises have child care facilities on site;
	(2)  whether there are waiting lists for places at child care facilities which his Department provides for its employees.

Gillian Merron: The Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has child care facilities on site.
	The Central Department for Transport, and its agencies, with the exception of the Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and the Government Car Despatch Agency (GCDA) offer child care vouchers by way of salary sacrifice.
	DVLA have their own on-site nursery for which they operate a waiting list. There are currently 13 children on their waiting list, however some of the children on their waiting list are not expecting to take up their place until a future date, often related to the mother's expected date of return to work after childbirth. This situation is usually resolved in September each year as older children leave to start school.

Ministerial Journeys

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 25 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1299W, on ministerial journeys, how many of the journeys were made by  (a) train,  (b) bus and  (c) aeroplane; and what the total distance travelled was in each year on public transport.

Gillian Merron: The breakdown of the journeys between rail and air is as follows:
	
		
			   Rail  Air 
			 2002-03 25 5 
			 2003-04 34 29 
			 2004-05 31 24 
			 2005-06 35 27 
			 2006-07 (to 5 July 2006) 7 4 
		
	
	No information is available on short journeys which may have been made using other modes of public transport during the course of ministerial visits, neither are there any records of the actual distance covered in undertaking each ministerial journey or of the time taken.
	All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers, copies of which are available in the Library of the House.

Ministerial Journeys

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many ministerial journeys he has made using his ministerial car in each year since 1997; and how far he has travelled in his ministerial car in each year.

Stephen Ladyman: The Government Car and Despatch Agency (GCDA) is responsible for providing ministerial transport in line with the Ministerial Code and the Prime Minister's guidance Travel by Ministers.
	GCDA does not keep a record of individual journeys nor details of passengers carried and information about the mileage covered could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

Road Safety

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road accidents there were in each year since 1997 in which one of the drivers involved had  (a) consumed an illegal volume of alcohol,  (b) taken illegal drugs,  (c) was driving above the speed limit and  (d) was using a mobile phone; and how many of these accidents resulted in (i) a fatality, (ii) serious injury or (iii) slight injury.

Stephen Ladyman: It is not possible to identify which drivers involved in personal injury road traffic injury accidents reported to the police had taken illegal drugs.
	An article on drinking and driving, including the information requested, was published in Road Casualties Great Britain: 2005 on 28 September 2006.
	On the same date the Department also published an article on contributory factors to road accidents which identifies where 'exceeding the speed limit' and 'driver using mobile phone' were contributory factors to the accident. These data are only available from 2005.
	Copies of the Road Casualties Great Britain: 2005 and the article Contributory factors to road accidents have been placed in the Library of the House.

TREASURY

Alternative Investment Market

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Government plan to change the regulatory regime for the Alternative Investment Market.

Edward Balls: The Government have no plans to introduce legislation specifically aimed at changing the regulatory regime for the Alternative Investment Market. However, there are two main plans for legislation which will change the overall regulatory regime affecting recognised investment exchanges which will have an impact on the regulatory regime for the Alternative Investment Market.
	First, as I announced on 13 September, the Government plan to legislate to give the FSA a power of veto over regulatory requirements imposed by recognised investment exchanges where these are disproportionate. This will include regulatory requirements imposed in relation to the Alternative Investment Market.
	Secondly, the Government are required to make legislative changes to implement the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFIDDirective 2004/39/2004) by 31 January 2007. MiFID implementation will change the obligations on recognised investment exchanges in respect of the markets they run. Under the directive, it is likely that the Alternative Investment Market will be classified as a multilateral trading facility (MTF). The main obligations that an investment exchange running an MTF will have to comply with under MiFID are to be found in articles 14, 26, 29 and 30 of the directive. These are similar to existing UK regulatory obligations and will not fundamentally change the regulatory regime for the Alternative Investment Market.

Benefit Fraud

Jo Swinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many cases of fraud have been recorded in which a parent has claimed and received child benefit for a child not habitually resident with them in each year since 2000  (a) in total and  (b) in each region of the country.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is not available.

Child Benefit

Graham Stuart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many judgments Secretaries of State in the Department have made in the last five years over which parent, following a separation or divorce, was entitled to child benefit; what the outcome was in each judgment; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many judgments he has made over which parent, following a separation or divorce, was entitled to child benefit, what the outcome was in each judgment; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: No figures are available for the past five years on the outcome of decisions made where separated or divorced parents continue to share the care of their children.
	In these cases parents need to decide between themselves who is to receive child benefit. It is only where both parents have claimed for the same child and they cannot decide who should be entitled that an officer of the Board will decide the matter. Each decision is made on the basis of the information provided by both parents.

Child Benefit

Graham Stuart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what representations he has received from child poverty groups on the apportioning of  (a) child tax credits and  (b) child benefits to non-resident parents; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many representations he has received from child poverty groups on the apportioning of  (a) child tax credits and  (b) child benefits to non-resident parents; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what discussions he has had with fathers' groups on the apportioning of  (a) child tax credits and  (b) child benefits to non-resident parents in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Treasury Ministers receive representations on a number of issues relating to financial support for children on a continuous basis, and in a variety of forms, such as reports, meetings, and letters.

Child Benefit

Graham Stuart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to apportion  (a) child tax credits and  (b) child benefits to non-resident parents; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Child benefit and child tax credit are awarded to the person with the main responsibility for a child. Parents may choose which of them will receive the payments, and if no agreement is reached, HM Revenue and Customs is responsible for determining entitlement, based on the facts in individual cases. There is no provision for splitting child benefit and child tax credit, although in families with two or more children, parents can agree to each claim in respect of different children.
	The Government have an ambitious goal to eradicate child poverty by 2020, and a PSA target to halve child poverty by 2010. To meet this challenging target, it is necessary to focus financial support in a way which enables the parent with main caring responsibilities to provide for the child's needs. The Government will continue to listen to parents and representative groups regarding the best way to support families with children.

Child Benefit

Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of the take-up rate for child benefit.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Lady to the answer I gave to my right hon. Friend the Member for North Tyneside (Mr. Byers) on 7 March 2006,  Official Report, column 1296W.

Child Benefit

Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people received child benefit in each of the last five years; how much was paid in child benefit in each year; and how much was spent on the administration of the benefit in each year, broken down by  (a) employee costs,  (b) IS/IT costs and  (c) other costs.

Dawn Primarolo: The following table shows the number of people who received child benefit, and how much was paid in the benefit in each of the last five years.
	For total administration costs of the benefit I refer the hon. Lady to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Lynne Jones) on 30 March 2006,  Official Report, column 1111W. A breakdown of the administration cost is not separately available.
	
		
			   Average number of claimants (Thousand)  Expenditure ( Million) 
			 2001-02 7,272 9,100 
			 2002-03 7,272 9,255 
			 2003-04 7,274 9,425 
			 2004-05 7,275 9,592 
			 2005-06 7,298 9,769

Child Benefit

Graham Stuart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many appeals there have been over decisions made by HM Revenue and Customs pertaining to which parent, following a separation or divorce, was entitled to  (a) child benefit and  (b) child tax credit in each of the last five years; what the outcome was in each appeal; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The information is not available.

Child Poverty

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what further steps he is taking to tackle child poverty for families who are in work.

Dawn Primarolo: A comprehensive strategy to halve child poverty by 2010-11, on the way to eradication by 2020, was set out in the Child Poverty Review, published in July 2004. This strategy has helped lift 700,000 children out of poverty between 1998-99 and 2004-05. Research by the Institute of Fiscal Studies(1) estimates that nearly 400,000 were in families in which at least one parent was in work.
	The Government will continue to pursue the strategy set out in the Child Poverty Review, including continuing to ensure that work pays for families on low incomes. This month, following the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission, the adult rate of the National Minimum Wage has increased from 5.05 to 5.35. The working tax credit (WTC) provides financial support in additional to earnings for households with low incomes. By April 2006, over 2.2 million working families were benefiting from WTC.
	Child tax credit (CTC) and child benefit also support families both in and out of work, smoothing the transition to employment. In Budget 2006 the Chancellor announced that the child element of CTC would continue to be uprated at least in line with earnings until the end of this Parliament.
	(1) Poverty and Inequality in Britain, 2006.

Commission of Private Sector Business Leaders

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer who the members of the Commission of Private Sector Business Leaders are; and on what dates it has met.

John Healey: The Business Commission on Race Equality in the Workplace is chaired by Gordon Pell of the Royal Bank of Scotland and is comprised of senior business leaders from different industries and cities. The Commission has been asked by the Chancellor to advise on policies and practical measures to increase the recruitment, retention and progression of ethnic minorities in the private sector. The Commission met for the first time on the 21 September and will submit its recommendations to the Chancellor in time for Budget 2007. The Commission is expected to conclude upon publishing its final report in June 2007.

Corporation Tax

David Anderson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much corporation tax was paid in each of the last five years by  (a) Bank of Scotland Corporate,  (b) Barclays Private Equity Ltd.  (c) Innisfree Ltd.  (d) Equion and  (e) HSBC plc.

Dawn Primarolo: HM Revenue and Customs has a statutory duty to maintain taxpayer confidentiality and it is not therefore possible to disclose how much corporation tax is paid by particular companies.

Correspondence

Mike Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to question 78957 tabled by the hon. Member for Portsmouth South on 19 June.

Dawn Primarolo: I did so earlier today, and regret not being in a position to reply to the hon. Gentleman before the House rose for the summer recess.

Dentistry

Adam Price: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether patients are able to get reimbursement for part of their national insurance payment to the value of the payment they have to make for joining a private dental practice where  (a) access to NHS dentistry is unavailable and  (b) a person is removed from a list when a dentist goes into private practice.

Dawn Primarolo: No refund of national insurance contributions is payable. Primary Care Trusts in England and Local Health Boards in Wales will, if necessary, help patients find a new NHS dentist. If that is not possible, they will temporarily help them get other access to NHS dental services (for example in England an NHS dental access centre).

Departmental Staff

Joan Ruddock: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer what departmental procedures are in place to encourage staff to apply for secondments to the  (a) United Nations and  (b) World Bank; and how many (i) applicants and (ii) successful applicants have been women in the last three years.

John Healey: All Treasury staff are informed of the availability of interchange with other organisations as part of career development. There are no special arrangements for publicising secondments to the United Nations or the World Bank and no central record is kept of applications to these organisations by Treasury staff.

Equity Release Schemes

John Pugh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment his Department has made of the effects of equity release schemes on pensioner income.

Edward Balls: The Treasury has made no such assessment.
	However, Chapter 5 of The First Report of the Pension Commission, published in 2004, examined the role of non-pension saving and housing wealth and the part that they might play in meeting pensioner needs.
	Data are available on pensioner incomes in The Pensioners' Incomes Series 2004-05 published by the Department for Work and Pensions in March 2006.

EU VAT Framework

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his assessment is of the effects on UK competitiveness of the EU VAT framework for financial services and insurance.

Edward Balls: The effect of the VAT regime on the financial service and insurance industries is a key consideration in the UK's approach to the current EU review of the VAT regime in these sectors. The Government are playing an active role in this review to ensure that, as global economic integration intensifies competition, the VAT regime is modernised to facilitate the continued success of the industry.

EU VAT Framework

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is on the European Commission's proposals to reform the VAT framework for financial services and insurance; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Balls: The UK is playing a full part in the EU review of the VAT treatment of financial services and we welcome it as an opportunity to modernise the VAT regime. The UK's objectives are rooted in facilitating economic growth, competitiveness, and fairness. At the same time we will need to consider the effect of any proposal for change on the public finances, and ensure the financial services industry continues to pay its fair share of taxes.

Freight Computer System

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost is of HM Revenue and Customs extending its service helping importers and exporters to apply information to the custom handling import and freight computer system; and how many staff are employed in providing this service.

Dawn Primarolo: HMRC is in the process of going to open tender for the running of the current Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) system contract between 2010 and 2015. Work will commence in 2008 on the actual replacement of the CHIEF service, to be completed by 2015. The EU Programme of Change MASP) will be delivered mainly on CHIEF and HMRC will be working in partnership with Business Link, who are part of the Department of Trade and Industry, to explore the opportunities available for extending current services. This will be done as part of the International Trade Single Window initiative. Preparatory work is ongoing and it is not therefore possible to provide accurate costs for updating CHIEF services at this time. There are currently 12 HMRC staff engaged in the maintenance of the CHIEF service and four technicians engaged in the maintenance of existing links.

Game Birds

Mike Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to apply standard rate VAT to game birds which are bred for sport; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: VAT zero-rating applies to live animals of a kind generally used as, or used to produce, food for human consumption. The scope of the relief is therefore defined by the type of animal concerned and whether it can be considered to be food according to the ordinary and every day meaning of the word. Game birds are therefore zero-rated.
	Basing the VAT treatment on the reason for purchase, or the final use, of the animal would be difficult to administer and would create significant complexities for both business and HM Revenue and Customs. While the Government keep all taxes under review, there are no current plans to alter the VAT treatment of game birds.

Guardian's Allowance

Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the take-up rate of guardian's allowance.

Dawn Primarolo: No such estimate exists.

Guardian's Allowance

Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people have received guardian's allowance in each of the last five years; how much was paid in guardian's allowance in each year; and how much was spent on the administration of the allowance in each year, broken down by  (a) employee costs,  (b) IS/IT costs and  (c) other costs.

Dawn Primarolo: The following table shows the number of people who received guardian's allowance, and how much was paid in the allowance in each of the last five years. The administration cost of the allowance is not separately available.
	
		
			   Average number of claimants (Thousand)  Expenditure ( million) 
			 2001-02 2.2 2 
			 2002-03 2.5 2 
			 2003-04 2.6 2 
			 2004-05 2.8 2 
			 2005-06 2.8 2

HM Revenue and Customs Staff

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many local office HM Revenue and Customs compliance staff dealing with  (a) tax credits and  (b) all tax compliance have been (i) transferred and (ii) made redundant in each quarter since March 2003; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
	HM Revenue and Customs staff transfer in and out of different business areas regularly for business, personal and career development reasons.
	No compliance staff have been made compulsorily redundant since March 2003.

Home Information Packs

Michael Gove: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether VAT will be levied on  (a) all and  (b) some of the items within home information packs.

Dawn Primarolo: The extent to which VAT will be payable on the costs incurred by a prospective house seller in compiling a home information pack will depend on what is included in the pack, and on how the person chooses to compile it.
	It has not yet been finally determined by the Department for Communities and Local Government what the full contents of a pack will comprise, pending evaluation of the 'dry run'.

Illegal Imports

Roger Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many cases of illegal imports of animal products into the UK were prosecuted in each year since 2000.

Dawn Primarolo: Since April 2003, when HM Revenue and Customs took on responsibility for tackling imports into Great Britain that are in breach of the products of animal origin regulations, there have been a total of nine prosecutions, all of which resulted in convictions. There were seven cases in the financial year 2004-05 and two in 2005-06.
	Central records of prosecutions undertaken by enforcement agencies prior to April 2003 are not maintained.

Illegal Imports

Roger Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures his Department has taken to increase the detection and seizure of illegal imports of animal products in the last 12 months.

Dawn Primarolo: HM Revenue and Customs continues to target traffic from high disease risk source countries on the basis of risk assessment and intelligence. In the last 12 months it has taken a number of additional measures in response to the threat posed by the spread of H5N1 avian influenza. HMRC stepped up the level of checks at ports, airports and postal services to target traffic from countries reporting H5N1 infection, doubling the resources deployed on detection of illegal animal products. It has revised its targeting to direct efforts at traffic from those states, including mounting intensive exercises on passenger, freight and postal traffic from specific countries.

Imported Food Products

Mike Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent research he has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the amount of imported food products which are entering the UK from the occupied Palestinian Territories but labelled as from Israel.

Dawn Primarolo: No research has been commissioned.
	Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs target goods, including food products, imported from Israel on the basis of risk and on the basis of information received from the European Commission in respect of goods which are suspected of originating in a settlement. Claims to duty relief under the provisions of the EC-Israel Association Agreement are disallowed where documentation accompanying the goods indicates that they were produced in the Occupied Territories.

Inheritance Tax

Andrew Love: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what change in the threshold of inheritance tax  (a) in percentage terms and  (b) as a monetary value he expects to be necessary in each of the five years from 2006-07 to maintain the inheritance tax take as a percentage of overall taxation at the level at 2005-06.

Dawn Primarolo: The share of total tax revenue represented by IHT is forecast to remain broadly level in the next five years. The Chancellor has pre-announced above-indexation increases in the threshold for all tax years up to 2009-10, when the threshold will be 325,000.

Iraq

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total cost has been of the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

Stephen Timms: The net additional costs of operations in Iraq to 31 March 2006 are recorded in the Ministry of Defence's annual reports and accounts.

Markets in Financial Instruments Directive

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the costs to UK businesses arising from the implementation of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive.

Edward Balls: The Treasury published a regulatory impact assessment of the impact of the implementation of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive with its consultation document on the legislative implementation of the directive. The consultation document can be found at:
	http://www.hm-treasurv.qov.uk/media/2EO/CAukimplementationeumarkets151205.pdf
	The regulatory impact assessment will be updated and the final version will be published alongside the version of the implementing legislation presented to Parliament.

NI Contributions

Robert Wilson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue the Treasury received in penalty fees for late registration for national insurance contributions in each year since 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: A penalty of 100 for the late registration for Class 2 self-employed national insurance contributions first took effect from 1 May 2001. The amounts collected are as follows:
	
		
			million 
			 2001-02 2.3 
			 2002-03 2.0 
			 2003-04 1.7 
			 2004-05 1.3

Pension Providers

Mark Hunter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps are being taken to reduce the time taken by HM Revenue and Customs to supply pension provider companies with information needed to make payments to clients; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The tax rules governing registered pension schemes are set out in Part 4 of the Finance Act 2004. Guidance is also available on the HMRC website. Together these should give pension companies the information they need to make payments to clients.

State Pensions

Philip Hammond: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the implications for tax revenue in each year from 2012-13 of reforms to state pensions proposed in the Pensions White Paper, Security in Retirement: Towards a New Pension System assuming no impact on employment rates amongst older workers or on private savings; and what his estimate is of the likely impact on (i) employment rates among older workers and (ii) on private savings.

Edward Balls: The Long-Term Public Finance Report provides a comprehensive analysis of fiscal sustainability. On the basis of current policies, the analysis provides long-term projections of tax revenue and spending that take into account projections of employment rates. An updated analysis will be provided at the time of this year's pre-Budget Report.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many referrals have been made to the Tax Credit National Intelligence Analysis Team in each month since April 2003; and what proportion have  (a) been investigated,  (b) been prosecuted and  (c) led to a conviction;
	(2)  what the administrative cost was of the Tax Credit National Intelligence Analysis Team in each year since 2003-04 and to date;
	(3)  what targets exist for the Tax Credit National Intelligence Analysis Team; and what performance the team has achieved against these targets since 2003.

Dawn Primarolo: Referrals where it is suspected that a claim for tax credits may be wrong or fraudulent can be received by HMRC from a variety of sources. HMRC look at all the information provided and determine whether a compliance intervention is appropriate. The National Audit Office Standard Report 2005-06 gives details of the number of instances where HMRC made compliance interventions on tax credit claims and also the number of prosecutions and convictions that HMRC brought. It is not possible to say how many of these were because of referrals without incurring disproportionate cost.
	The resource costs for tax credits compliance were published in the answer I gave the hon. Member for Shipley (Philip Davies) on 17 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1084W.
	The National Intelligence and Analysis Team no longer exists but the team contributed towards the overall compliance targets set for tax credits contained in HMRC's (previously Inland Revenue's) Annual Reports.

Tax Credits

Janet Dean: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many households are receiving manual payments of tax credits.

Dawn Primarolo: At 30 June 2006 the number of tax credits claimants receiving manual payments was around 16,500

Tax Credits

Janet Dean: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the target time for processing new tax credit claims is; and what percentage of new claims for tax credits were processed within this target in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 18 July 2006,  Official Report, column 364W.

Tax Credits

Ian Davidson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 18 July 2006,  Official Report, column 362W, on tax credits, what information is collected in relation to the number of occasions on which HM Revenue and Customs have intervened where they suspect a claim by an individual from another EU country claiming tax credits in the UK may be  (a) incorrect and  (b) fraudulent; and in what format that information can be produced.

Dawn Primarolo: Statistical information on compliance interventions broken down by nationality of the claimant is not available. It would also generally be inappropriate to disclose a complete list of compliance information relating to tax credits as to do so may provide assistance to those attempting to defraud the system.

Tax Credits

Hywel Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total amount of tax credit overpayments was in each constituency in England and Wales in each of the last three years; how much of the overpayments was  (a) reclaimed and  (b) written off in each constituency; and what each figure represents as a percentage of the total tax credit paid in each year.

Dawn Primarolo: For estimates of the numbers of in-work families with tax credit awards, including information on overpayments, by constituency I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given on 16 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1421W to my right hon. Friend the Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field).
	Information on overpayments reclaimed or written off, and expenditure, by constituency, is not available.

Tax Credits

Hywel Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans there are for HM Revenue and Customs to produce tax credit notices and renewal packs in the Welsh language; and when these will be made available to claimants.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave him on 23 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1651W.

Tax Credits

James Gray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average length of time elapsing between a claimant receiving acknowledgement of a claim form from the Inland Revenue and receiving an award notice was in the last period for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: The information is not available.

Tax Credits

James Gray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people he estimates are eligible to claim tax credit but do not claim.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr Laws) on 12 June 2006,  Official Report, column 933W.

Tax Credits

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the total amount of tax credits paid erroneously to illegal immigrants in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 18 July 2006,  Official Report, column 363W.

Tax Credits

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tax credit overpayment cases have been reviewed at the request of the recipient in each of the last eight quarters; and what proportion of those reviews have led to  (a) some and  (b) all of the overpayment being written off.

Dawn Primarolo: For the number of tax credits overpayments disputed and remitted, in part or in full, up to and including April 2006, I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 18 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 359-60W.
	The figures for May to August 2006 were around:
	
		
			   Number disputed  Number written off (fully or partially) 
			 May 2006 36,500 1,500 
			 June 2006 39,500 1,000 
			 July 2006 33,000 1,000 
			 August 2006 32,000 1,000 
		
	
	The figures for overpayments written off do not directly relate to those disputes that were received in the same month. TCO does not separately record whether an overpayment is written off in part or in full.
	Figures for September 2006 are not yet available.

Tax Credits

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tax credit recipients resident in Scotland had their first award notice for 2006-07 sent to them after 11 August; and how many resident in England and Wales had their first notice sent to them after 1 September.

Dawn Primarolo: This information is not available.

Tax Credits

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the target date was for issue of a customer's first tax credit award notice for 2006-07; and in what proportion of cases this target was met.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answers I gave the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 16 Jun 2006,  Official Report, column 1421W and the hon. Member for Guildford (Anne Milton) on 2 November 2005,  Official Report,( , )column 1058W.

Tax Credits

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the amount of child tax credit paid to migrant workers from within the EU whose children do not reside in the UK in the latest period for which an estimate is available.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Lady to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Rayleigh (Mr. Francois) on 13 September 2006,  Official Report, columns 2337-38W.

Tax Relief (Companies)

Vincent Cable: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer how many companies received tax relief on capital expenditure in 2005-06.

Dawn Primarolo: Latest published estimates, to 2003-04, of the numbers of companies receiving tax relief by way of capital allowances claimed against trading income can be found in the HMRC National Statistics table at: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/corporate_tax/11_3_oct05.xls

Tax Returns (Penalties)

Clive Betts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the most recent range of late filing of tax return penalties was introduced; and what the range of penalties would have been in 2006-07 if they had been updated in line with the retail prices index since their introduction.

Dawn Primarolo: There are different penalties for the late filing of different types of returns; for example income tax, company tax and VAT returns. Of these major heads of tax, the late filing penalties for company tax returns were the most recently introduced in Finance Act 1998. Those penalties are 100 if the return is delivered up to three months late and 200 in other cases. These amounts are increased to 500 and 1,000 respectively for a third successive failure to file on time. These penalties have not been updated in line with the retail price index since their introduction.

Tax Revenue

Philip Dunne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many estates in the UK paid inheritance tax in  (a) 2005-06,  (b) 1997-98 and  (c) 1979-80; and what these figures represent as a percentage of the population in each year.

Dawn Primarolo: The number of estates paying inheritance tax is published on the HMRC website at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax receipts/1_4_apr06.xls
	UK population estimates are published on the ONS website as follows:
	 Years 1976 to 2004:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/STATBASE/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=9468
	 Year 2005:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/STATBASE/Product.asp?vlnk=601

Tax Revenue

Susan Kramer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total amount of tax raised from all sources is in each of the last three financial years.

Dawn Primarolo: The Treasury's latest estimates of tax receipts are published monthly in table C4 of the Public Finances Databank: www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/economic_data_and_tools/finance_spending_statistics/pubsec_finance
	The series which most closely reflects the total amount of tax raised each financial year is Net taxes and National Insurance Contributions.

Tax Revenue

Susan Kramer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total amount of income tax is that his Department has collected in the last three financial years.

Dawn Primarolo: The amount of income tax collected net of repayments and tax credits treated as negative taxation in the past three financial years can be found at www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax receipts/tablel-2.xls.

Tax Revenue

Susan Kramer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost to the Treasury is, in pence per pound collected, of collecting income tax.

Dawn Primarolo: The cost of collecting income tax is published in Table 1 of Annex F in the HMRC Annual Report 2004-05, which is available from the Library of the House. The latest available figures are for 2004-05.

Tax Revenue

Susan Kramer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what total amount of inheritance tax his Department has collected in the last three financial years.

Dawn Primarolo: Net revenue from inheritance tax is published on the HMRC internet site at www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_receipts/table1-2.xls.

Tax Revenue

Susan Kramer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost to the Treasury is, in pence per pound collected, of collecting inheritance tax.

Dawn Primarolo: The cost of collecting inheritance tax, in terms of pence per pound collected, is given in Table 1, Annex F, of HM Revenue and Customs' Annual Report 2004-05 and Autumn Performance Report 2005. A copy of the report is available in the House Library.

Tobin Tax

James McGovern: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment his Department has made of the operability of a Tobin tax.

Dawn Primarolo: The Tobin tax is a long-established idea that has recently re-emerged in discussions on financing for development. The Government have concluded that there would be significant technical problems with a tax of this sort and it is not being actively considered at the present time. The UK Government have set a timetable to reach the target of 0.7 per cent. Overseas Development Assistance-GNI by 2013.

WALES

Departmental Expenditure

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much was spent by his Department in respect of hotel and other similar privately-provided accommodation  (a) in the UK and  (b) abroad for (i) Ministers, (ii) staff and (iii) other persons in each year since 2001-02.

Peter Hain: The Wales Office does not have any agencies or non-departmental bodies.
	The Wales Office does not currently hold information in the format requested. This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Expenditure

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much was spent by his Department on food and alcohol for its staff working out of office in each year since 2001-02.

Peter Hain: The Wales Office records expenditure on all subsistence costs as a total. The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Staff

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proportion of  (a) staff and  (b) new staff employed since April 2005 in his Department is recorded as disabled.

Peter Hain: The Wales Office publishes information about the gender and grading of staff in its annual departmental report, which is available in the House Library. The Wales Office has a small number of staff with disabilities. For privacy reasons the numbers are confidential, in line with guidance issued by the Cabinet Office, which states that Departments are not required to provide figures on the number of disabled staff where it is less than five in the department.

Departmental Staff

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what tax-efficient schemes for the purchase of bicycles his Department makes available to its employees; how many and what percentage of his Department's staff purchased bicycles through such schemes in 2005-06; whether the schemes are available through a range of suppliers; and whether arrangements are made to enable staff with disabilities to purchase adapted bicycles from a specialist supplier.

Peter Hain: Wales Office staff are able to apply for an advance of salary (which is then deducted at source and is therefore tax-efficient) to purchase bicycles and safety equipment. While a number of Wales Office staff cycle to work, none of them purchased bicycles through the scheme in 2005-06.
	Staff are able to purchase bicycles from any supplier, which would allow those requiring adapted bicycles to purchase them.

Electoral Commission

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the Electoral Commission Report Wales: Poll Position in respect of changes made in the governance of Wales.

Peter Hain: I welcome the Electoral Commission's report, which identifies a need for more effective communication of the powers, remit and responsibilities of the National Assembly for Wales. In the Government of Wales Act 2006 we have given the Assembly new powers to promote public awareness of its role and electoral arrangements. This was itself recommended in the Electoral Commission's earlier report on the 2003 Assembly elections.

Nuclear Decommissioning

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has made of the cost of decommissioning Wylfa power station on Anglesey; how long the decommissioning process will take; how many local jobs will be created by the decommissioning process; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Hain: I and my Department have made no direct estimates on the decommissioning of Wylfa. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) assumed responsibility for the decommissioning and clean-up of the UK's historic civil nuclear legacy on 1 April 2005. The legacy includes the Magnox nuclear power station at Wylfa, Anglesey.
	The lifetime costs for Wylfa are estimated to be in the region of 1.7 billion, with about 1.2 billion spent subsequent to the end of operations. The NDA's current plan for decommissioning Wylfa (as set out in its approved Strategy) is that it will operate until 2010; between 2010 and 2012 the fuel will be removed. That will be followed by a period of preparation for care and maintenance, which will include all of the facilities outside the reactor core being decommissioned; this is planned to be completed by 2025. The core and its contents will be finally cleared by 2125. Further details of all NDA activities, such as the Strategy and plans for Wylfa and decommissioning costs, can be found on the NDA website at: www.nda.gov.uk.
	The detail of Wylfa's plans for decommissioning and clean-up are still in preparation, and job requirements have not yet been finalised. The NDA is therefore only able to provide indicative numbers. The current plan estimates that job numbers (staff and subcontract) will be about 700 in 2010, reducing progressively to 160 in 2024 through the defuelling and decommissioning phase for care and maintenance preparations.
	The Assembly Government is working with the Isle of Anglesey County Council, UK Government and other stakeholders to develop approaches for addressing the future socio-economic impact.

Renewable Energy

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what his most recent estimated economic value of the renewable energy industry in Wales is; what estimate he has made of future growth for the industry; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Hain: Given the complexity of the renewable industry sector, from research to development and final installation of individual facilities and associated infrastructure, it has not thus far been possible to assign it an accurate monetary value.
	The Assembly Government has set renewable targets of 4 Terawatt hours by 2010 and 7TWh by 2020. If an estimated 800MW of on-shore wind capacity were implemented by 2010, this would create approximately 600 million of investment. In addition 190MW of consented offshore wind developments should produce around 190 million of investment (with consent for a further 750MW currently being considered). Construction is also starting on a 33 million biomass plant.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Departmental Carbon Emissions

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the total carbon emission from his Department's buildings in each year since 1997.

James Plaskitt: Total carbon emissions for the Department of Work and Pensions, as reported in the annual Sustainable Development in Government reports since 2002 (the first full year of DWP operations) are as follows:
	
		
			   KgC 
			 2002-03 57,420,562 
			 2003-04 60,820,498 
			 2004-05 62,119,510 
		
	
	These figures are calculated by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and do not reflect the substantial volumes of renewable electricity secured by the Department during those years.
	Figures for 2005-06 are currently being calculated and will be published in the next Sustainable Development in Government report.

Departmental Childcare Facilities

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what childcare  (a) provision and  (b) assistance is available to his Department's staff;
	(2)  which of his Department's premises have childcare facilities on site;
	(3)  whether there are waiting lists for places at childcare facilities which his Department provides for its employees.

Anne McGuire: The Department supports employees with children in a variety of ways. 1,139 employees receive support as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 Employees supported by holiday playschemes 369 
			 Employees supported through nursery/crche places/subsidies 770 
		
	
	The Department's employees have access to 32 holiday playschemes, five supported nurseries/crches and nine on site nurseries. The on site nurseries are located in: Quay House Dudley, Clearbrook House Plymouth, Parklands Falkirk, Great Western House Birkenhead, Ashdown House Hastings, Spur M Surrey, Glasgow Benefits Centre Glasgow, Quarry House Leeds and Crown House Grimsby.
	Five Child Support Agency sites have a dedicated waiting list for places in their nurseries There are currently 350 people (in total) on the waiting list. However these staff receive a subsidy in lieu. None of the other businesses retain a waiting list for childcare facilities.
	The Department will also be implementing the Childcare Voucher (Salary Sacrifice) Scheme with the rollout of a new payroll system. This scheme will offer the advantage of supporting parents to make their own choices about where and what type of childcare they want for their child.

Housing Allowance

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the proposed use of median rents to establish local housing allowance rates will  (a) include all rents and  (b) exclude significantly high and significantly low rents.

James Plaskitt: holding answer 9 October 2006
	Local housing allowance rates will be set at the median of the distribution of private rented sector rents in the rent officers' market evidence database. The database does not include cases where the level of rent may have been influenced by the receipt of housing benefit.

Housing Allowance

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the likely impact of the local housing allowance on the welfare of benefit claimants and their dependants.

James Plaskitt: Compared with the current housing benefit rules, we estimate that the majority of new claimants will gain under the local housing allowance. This will make a positive contribution to tackling child poverty and to the welfare of those without children.
	The local housing allowance provides a more transparent housing benefit scheme and through direct payment to claimants, encourages greater financial inclusion. The transparency of the scheme will also help claimants to understand the maximum amount of housing benefit that they can receive, reducing the likelihood that they move into accommodation without realising that housing benefit will not cover the full rent.

Housing Allowance

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the likely difference between the average contractual rent and the local housing allowance in the private rented sector if such a scheme is introduced across the country.

James Plaskitt: Any shortfall between the local housing allowance and contractual rent at the time of national roll-out of the local housing allowance will depend on the trends in local rent levels and the accommodation choices made by tenants. The trends in local rent levels up to the point of national roll-out cannot be predicted precisely and local housing allowance rates will vary across local private rent sector markets and different sizes of property. However, we estimate that the majority of new claimants at roll-out will gain under the proposed national local housing allowance compared with what they would have been entitled to under the current housing benefit rules. Additionally, as the rates will be set at the median market rent and published, claimants will have access to 50 per cent. of the rental market and will know their maximum entitlement in advance reducing the risk of unexpected shortfalls.
	Differences between the local housing allowance and contractual rents will be one of the issues we will look at as part of the proposed two year review of the local housing allowance.

Incapacity Benefit

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether specialist counselling support is available at job centres to assist incapacity benefit claimants back into work.

Jim Murphy: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Gentleman with the information requested.
	 Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 10 October 2006:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking whether specialist counselling support is available at job centres to assist incapacity benefit claimants back into work. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Specialist Personal Advisers, who have received specific training in supporting and advising customers with health conditions and disabilities are available in all Jobcentres to help incapacity benefits' customers back to work.
	Within the Pathways to Work pilots, incapacity benefits' customers have access to specialist Condition Management Programmes. Customers referred to these programmes are assessed by clinicians who will draw up a health action plan outlining the most appropriate programme for that particular customer.
	In those areas where Pathways to Work does not operate, Jobcentre Plus advisers are also able to access a wide range of support available from partner organisations; for instance, in the voluntary and community sectors that specialise in supporting individuals with health issues and multiple barriers to work. Some of these organisations will be able to offer counselling to customers who wish to take advantage of such services.

Jobcentre Plus

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will raise the upper limit for funeral payments via Jobcentre Plus.

James Plaskitt: Funeral payments from the Social Fund cover the cost of certain necessary charges in full; these include fees levied by burial authorities and crematoria. An additional sum of up to 700 is allowed for other funeral expenses, which gives the person arranging the funeral the freedom to select items or services they consider appropriate.
	Although there are no plans to make changes to the amount allowed at this time the level of help is kept under review.

Pathways to Work

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what measures he has introduced to help and encourage employers to take on people with  (a) a disability and  (b) a mental health problem; what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Pathways to Work pilots in helping people with a mental health problem into work; what the characteristics are of programmes that have demonstrated effectiveness in helping such people into work; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 11 September 2006
	Ensuring that opportunities are available for disabled people in the workplace is fundamental to our welfare reforms. Since 1997, we have set about implementing the most profound extension of disability rights this country has ever seen. In 2004, we extended the employment provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 to provide protection against discrimination for an additional 600,000 disabled workers, including those with mental health conditions.
	Engaging and supporting employers in retaining employees is also a key element to the Government's Health, Work and Well-Being Strategy. We are putting together a cohesive and wide-ranging strategic action plan, developed in consultation with employers and led by employer organisations that are committed to increasing job opportunities for disabled people.
	We are currently evaluating the Institute for Fiscal Studies' early findings on the impact Pathways is having on claimants with mental health conditions. However, we continue to work closely with health professionals to improve our provision, such as the current review of the personal capability assessment, and to monitor the effect of Pathways to Work on specific groups, including people with mental health conditions.
	As part of our Pathways to Work approach we have introduced new condition management programmes, delivered in partnership with the NHS. They offer a range of programmes to help people manage their condition and focus on their work options. Enhanced in-work support is also available in Pathways to Work areas to help people establish themselves in the crucial early period of a return to work. They allow former incapacity benefits claimants, and their employers, voluntary access to advice or specialist services including mentoring, job coaching or occupational health support.